Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Fossil Fuels

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that plans to phase out of fossil fuel powered vehicles does not increase greenhouse gas emissions associated with the (a) manufacture and (b) distribution of new vehicles; and will he make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, sets out our proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy (including transport) to 2030. It explains how the whole country can benefit from the transition to a low carbon economy, while meeting national and international commitments to tackle climate change.

A38: Devon

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the A38 between Plymouth and Exeter to be upgraded to Highway England’s Expressway standard.

Jesse Norman: The Department consulted over the winter on Highways England’s proposals for the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), which included specifying a possible Expressway standard. The consultation responses will inform development of the RIS2 investment plan covering all aspect of strategic road enhancements including potential Expressways. The Department intends to announce its decisions in mid-2019.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential opportunities High Speed 2 provides to members of the UK railway supply chain to increase their international export profile.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We want to ensure that HS2 leaves a legacy of exportable capabilities. Procurement processes have been designed in order to open up opportunities for the wider UK supply chain – the approach seeks to ensure that members of the UK railway supply chain have the opportunity to bid for and, potentially, win HS2 sub-contracts. We are, in turn, working with industry on how to support the supply chain involved in delivering HS2 to generate exports.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of implementing a requirement that UK-based suppliers are formally considered in the procurement of all (a) systems and (b) sub-systems required for the delivery of High Speed 2 Phase 1.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Procurements for HS2 are undertaken in accordance with the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 that transpose EU Directives on procurement into UK law and reflect the EU procurement principles of transparency, non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality. Accordingly, UK based and non-UK based bidders for HS2 contracts will be treated equally. Nevertheless, HS2’s procurement approach seeks to ensure that UK-based suppliers have the opportunity to bid for and, potentially, win HS2 contracts and sub-contracts. Primary (Tier 1) contractors and their sub-contractors will be required to advertise all sub-contract opportunities using the free access CompeteFor web-sourcing portal.

Inland Waterways: Derbyshire

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to include provision for a tunnel under the widened section of the M1 south of Junction 25 to accommodate the restoration of the Derby and Sandiacre canal.

Jesse Norman: Highways England are converting the existing M1 between Junctions 23a and 25 into a smart motorway to increase capacity and improve journeys. There are no plans to make provision for any future restoration of the Derby and Sandiacre canal by building a tunnel under the M1 as part of this scheme.

Bus Services: Disability

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of bus drivers have undertaken disability awareness training.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure compliance with EU regulation 181/2011 by which disability awareness training for bus drivers has been a legal requirement since March 2018.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to report annually on the proportion of bus drivers that have undertaken disability awareness training.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Effective disability awareness and equality training can play an important role in giving transport staff the knowledge, skills and confidence to support disabled passengers. We have already worked with disabled people and the bus industry to develop best practice guidance to support the implementation of mandatory disability awareness training, and are now developing a monitoring and enforcement framework to ensure that the new requirements result in drivers better able to respond to passenger needs. We will also ask operators about their plans in this year’s Annual Bus Statistics survey, and plan to publish the results, subject to quality considerations. Responding appropriately to the needs of disabled passengers should be an integral element of strong customer service, and I encourage all operators to ensure that their staff understand the rights and requirements of disabled people, and how to help them have a safe and comfortable journey.

Regional Airports

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to allocate additional resources for the expansion of surface access to regional airports, including (a) Stansted and (b) Luton.

Jesse Norman: Airports should pay the costs of upgrading or enhancing surface access links where there is a need to cope with additional passengers. Where the scheme has wider range of beneficiaries, the Government will consider the need for additional public funding on a case-by-case basis. The Government has set out that in developing a new Aviation Strategy, it will review how road and rail links to airports are planned.

Regional Airports

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the effectiveness of the use of airport capacity at regional airports.

Jesse Norman: The UK’s airports are either owned and operated by commercial private sector companies, or are public/private partnerships which operate commercially. It is for airports’ owners and operators to make the business decisions to invest in strategies to develop their capacity. Airports that wish to invest in new infrastructure will need to submit applications to the relevant planning authority for consideration. The Government is also developing a new, long-term Aviation Strategy to 2050 and beyond which aims to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector that meets the needs of consumers and of a global, outward-looking Britain.

Bus Services: Concessions

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a national concessionary bus fare structure for 16-18 year olds.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government recognises the importance of accessible and affordable transport to all young people. Concessionary fares for young people are already available in 86% of authorities in England outside of London as a result of a decision by a Travel Concession Authority or a bus operator.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the Roads to Zero strategy.

Jesse Norman: The Government expects to publish its zero emission road transport strategy later in the Spring.

Zero Emissions Vehicle Summit

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Zero Emissions Vehicle Summit announced by the Prime Minister in December 2017 is planned to be held.

Jesse Norman: The Zero Emission Vehicle Summit will take place in Autumn 2018.

Driving: Disqualification

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many drivers have been disqualified from driving since 2013.

Jesse Norman: The number of drivers currently shown on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s records as having one or more disqualifications since January 2013 is 429,508. There may have been other disqualifications imposed during the period up to and including April 2014 but these will have expired and been removed from the record.

Railways: Tickets

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department is making on fully automating delay repay procedures for rail passengers using smartcards.

Joseph Johnson: The Department policy is to support and encourage operators to make claiming compensation for delays as simple and swift as possible for passengers on all ticket types, including smartcards, through automated processes such as informing passengers of their right to claim via smartcards or Apps, on-line claim forms, and electronic logging of passengers’ details for payment purposes.

Network Rail

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Network Rail staff work for their Infrastructure Projects division; what the annual expenditure of that organisation is; and what assessment he has made of the competitiveness of that organisation.

Joseph Johnson: Currently, 5,400 people work in the Infrastructure Projects (IP) division. Last year, IP delivered £5.7bn of work nationally. Network Rail has committed to increasing efficiency and contestability, driving transformational change both internally and across the rail industry. The Department is working with Network Rail to look at the end to end process for the delivery of infrastructure projects in order to better meet passenger and customer requirements.

Electric Vehicles

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of subsidies and financial incentives provided from the public purse has been by scheme for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in each of the last five financial years.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 23 April 2018



The cost of the plug-in vehicle grants* covering the period from 2013/14 to 2017/18 is set out in the table below:  2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Total Cost (£)21,187,33794,359,000226,087,00095,602,000165,519,278602,754,615Vehicles supported5,14622,83839,19630,62151,500149,301 The Government incentivises the purchase of electric vehicles with a grant for consumers to offset the cost of this technology, this approach provides both environmental and industrial benefits. In March 2016, the Plug-in Car Grant was reduced from £5,000 to £4,500 for eligible electric and fuel cell electric vehicles and from £5,000 to £2,500 for qualifying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The changes in grant level led to a short term increase in take-up prior to the new rates being implemented, particularly for plug in hybrids. *includes Plug-in car, van, motorcycle and taxi grants

Cycleways

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in increasing the number cycle paths on public roads.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017, outlines £1.2 billion of funding that may be invested in cycling and walking over the period to 2021. Since its publication, the Government has made further support available for cycling and walking infrastructure, through the National Productivity Investment Fund, Transforming Cities Fund and Clean Air Fund. Ultimately, decisions for allocating funding for cycle paths are for local authorities. In line with the Strategy, the Department for Transport is in the process of updating its guidance for local authorities on designing good, safe cycling infrastructure. In addition, the Department is providing 44 local authorities with access to expert support to assist in the development of ten-year Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans. This support will enable authorities to map their future cycle networks and to prioritise future investments.

Transport: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has provided for transport projects in Coventry since 2015.

Joseph Johnson: I refer the honourable Member to the answer given on 26 March 2018 (UIN 133640).

Railways: Digital Technology

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to publish a detailed infrastructure plan setting out the key enablers of the digital railway; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: We will be publishing a Digital Railway Strategy with Network Rail and a public announcement on this strategy will be made shortly.

Railways: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Office of Rail and Road in (a) regulating unit costs and (b) delivering productivity improvements in the rail industry in each calendar year since 2014.

Joseph Johnson: The Government reviewed the effectiveness of the economic regulatory functions of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in 2016. Following this review my Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, set out in revised guidance to the ORR - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629698/guidance-to-the-office-of-rail-and-road.pdf – the Government’s priorities for rail regulation, which include that ORR takes a rigorous and robust approach to holding Network Rail to account for improving cost effectiveness, securing deliverability and reducing unit costs, during the remainder of Control Period 5 (2014-2019) and throughout Control Period 6 (2019-2024). The Government continues to work closely with the ORR to improve the efficiency of the railway, including on unit cost regulation and delivering productivity improvements, whilst being mindful of the ORR’s important statutory independence from Government and its accountability to Parliament for the effective delivery of its functions.

Taxis

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 127728, on licensing of cross-border taxi’s and private hire vehicles, how many times the Task and Finish group has met; whether the Minister has met the group; and when the group will report its findings.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Task and Finish group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles has meet on nine occasions. The group is independent so I have not attended any group meetings. The group is expected to submit its report shortly.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fracking: Methane

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Implementation Unit Report on Shale Gas, what estimate the Government has made of the amount of unintended methane emissions at the projected (a) 17 sites by 2020, (b) 30 to 35 sites by 2022 and (c) 155 sites by 2025.

Claire Perry: Both the 2013 report, ‘Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Shale Gas Extraction and Use’[1] (Mackay/Stone) and the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) 2016 report ‘Onshore Petroleum: The compatibility of UK onshore petroleum with meeting the UK’s carbon budgets’[2] provided analysis on the potential implications of greenhouse gas emissions from extracting shale gas in the UK. The Mackay/Stone report concluded that the carbon footprint of UK shale gas would likely be much less than coal and comparable to imported Liquefied Natural Gas. The CCC report concluded that shale gas production is compatible with carbon budgets if three conditions are met:Methane emissions from shale gas production minimised and monitored.Gas consumption remains within carbon budget limitsAny additional shale gas emissions offset by reductions elsewhere in order to meet carbon budgets We believe that our robust regulatory regime and determination to meet our carbon budgets mean those tests can and will be met. The Government is grant funding an environmental monitoring programme led by the British Geological Survey in the Fylde (Lancashire) and Kirby Misperton (North Yorkshire), where applications for shale gas wells have been made. This programme includes the measurement of methane emissions, and would continue after the start of shale gas extraction. The evidence gathered from this programme will inform our future estimates of unintended methane emissions from potential shale gas extraction. During any shale gas operations the operator will be required to undertake environmental monitoring, including emissions monitoring, to demonstrate compliance with their environmental permits. Clauses in the Infrastructure Act make it clear that any hydraulic fracturing activity cannot take place unless appropriate arrangements have been made for monitoring emissions of methane into the air. Operators will also be required to publish the results of their methane emissions reporting. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/237330/MacKay_Stone_shale_study_report_09092013.pdf[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/committee-on-climate-change-report-and-government-response-on-the-compatibility-of-uk-onshore-petroleum-with-meeting-the-uks-carbon-budgets

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has undertaken an assessment of the potential effect of the Welsh Government's proposed investment in the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project on the (a) level of the average strike price and (b) tenure of contract requested by the prospective developer.

Claire Perry: The Department has had a number of constructive discussions with the Welsh Government in relation to the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has agreed a date by which it will accept or decline the offer of investment into Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon by the Welsh Government.

Claire Perry: The Department has had a number of constructive discussions with the Welsh Government in relation to the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project. It continues to work with them to understand the nature of the Welsh Government offer of investment and ensure value for money for taxpayers.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of investment into Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon by the Welsh Government on the required (a) strike price and (b) length of contract.

Claire Perry: The Department has had a number of constructive discussions with the Welsh Government in relation to the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.

Natural Gas: Prices

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from consumer rights organisations on reports of gas providers overcharging consumers and providing inadequate compensation and redress to those consumers.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from sector organisations on reports of gas providers overcharging consumers and providing inadequate compensation and redress to those consumers.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with (a) sector organisations and (b) consumer rights organisations on reports of gas providers overcharging consumers and providing inadequate compensation and redress to those consumers.

Claire Perry: BEIS Ministers and officials receive representations and meet stakeholders on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues. The independent regulator, Ofgem has powers to require compensation for consumers adversely affected by regulatory breaches by licenced energy providers. The Ombudsman: Energy has powers to require a licensed energy provider to make a financial award of up to £10,000 as part of its final decision to resolve an individual energy consumer’s complaint. The Ombudsman Service: Energy confirmed 37,925 remedies between July 2016 - June 2017 and 38,552 during July 2015 – June 2016. This data is available online at: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/about-us/annual-reports/adr-entity-reporting .

Energy: Prices

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will review the system for redress and compensation to consumers who have been overcharged by energy companies.

Claire Perry: The independent regulator, Ofgem’s has robust powers to investigate and compel redress when energy companies breach competition and consumer protection law, and their supply licence conditions. Ofgem can impose financial penalties of up to 10 per cent of a licensee’s turnover for breaches of licence conditions and competition law, and apply to the courts for an order to stop breaches of consumer legislation. In addition, they can also require compensation for consumers adversely affected by regulatory breaches. Consumers who believe they have been overcharged should raise the matter with their energy supplier and if they do not receive a satisfactory response, they can take the matter to the Ombudsman Service: Energy. The Ombudsman has powers to require a supply company to make a financial award to a consumer of up to £10,000.

Electricity Generation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of which is the cheapest form of electricity generation; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: BEIS’s most recent assessment of electricity generation costs can be found in the generation costs report (2016)[1] which covers both renewable and non-renewable technologies. We are currently undertaking a review of our evidence on levelised costs of electricity generation. [1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/566567/BEIS_Electricity_Generation_Cost_Report.pdf

Natural Gas

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to support off-grid households to connect to the gas network.

Claire Perry: The Gas Act 1986 already confers a duty on my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State to ‘secure that, so far as it is economical to meet them, all reasonable demands in Great Britain for gas conveyed through pipes’. This duty is exercised through obligations and licence conditions placed upon gas operators. In addition, the Gas Act 1986 (ss.9 & 10) also confers on Gas Distribution Network operators the obligation to comply with requests to be connected to their gas mains, so far as it is economical to do so, and where the premises to be connected are within 23 metres of a relevant main.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of homeowners who have participated in the electric vehicle homecharge scheme.

Richard Harrington: To date, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has supported the installation of more than 89,000 domestic chargepoints. This includes more than 48,700 domestic chargepoints through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) with the remainder being delivered by the predecessor Domestic Recharging Scheme (DRS)

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to encourage more local authorities to take up electric car charge-point funding.

Richard Harrington: Earlier this year, Office for Low Emission Vehicle Ministers wrote to Local Authority leaders encouraging them to support the uptake of electric vehicles and apply to the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. This scheme provides grant funding to Local Authorities to install chargepoints at on-street locations for residents that lack off-street parking. Ministers also announced a further £4.5m for the scheme over the next two years (£2m for 18/19 and £2.5m for 19/20). In addition, OLEV and the Energy Savings Trust have recently hosted a series of on-street charging workshops providing over 200 Local Authorities with more information on the scheme.

Electric Vehicles

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of trends in the use of electric and hybrid vehicles on the National Grid over the next ten years.

Richard Harrington: The Government will shortly publish a strategy on the transition to zero emission vehicles in the UK. This will include both electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The electricity system capacity market is the principal tool for ensuring that the UK has sufficient capacity to meet demand across the electricity system. Capacity secured in four-year ahead and one-year ahead capacity market auctions will be key in ensuring demand arising from a greater uptake of electric vehicles is met. National Grid use their evidence based Future Energy Scenarios (FES), incorporating latest trends in supply and demand (including from electric vehicles), when determining the volume of capacity to secure through these auctions.

Medicine: Research

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transparency of publicly-funded medical research and development.

Mr Sam Gyimah: On 1 April the Government launched a UK Research and Innovation, a new body that brings together nine councils including the Medical Research Council (MRC), Innovate UK and Research England into a single organisation. UK Research and Innovation aims to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. UK Research and Innovation is one of the main means by which the Government funds medical research. It is committed to transparency in the medical research it funds. Information on all research projects funded by MRC, including information on outcomes and research publications will continue to be published on the Gateway to Research. By publishing this information, the research councils help to improve the public view of the progress of research, down to the individual project level. The Research Councils UK Open Access policy aims to ensure that ideas and knowledge derived from publicly funded research are made available and accessible for public use. The National Audit Office published a report on cross-government funding of research and development in November 2017. This found that, for research in human health, coordination mechanisms and leadership arrangements are well established and functioning, consolidated data on funding and capability is used to support decision-making, and steps are being taken towards consolidated evaluation of research outcomes

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Cybercrime

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with key infrastructure providers on the steps they are taking to protect themselves from cyber-attack.

Richard Harrington: Government Departments and the National Cyber Security Centre have regular discussions with key infrastructure providers on their management of cyber risk.Ensuring the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure is secure and resilient against cyber attack is a priority for the Government as set out in the National Cyber Security Strategy. This is supported by a significant programme of work to provide advice, guidance and support to infrastructure providers and develop effective regulatory frameworks.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many IT systems which his Department uses are more than (a) three, (b) five and (c) eight years old; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all his Department's IT systems are updated promptly.

Richard Harrington: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy uses a number of IT systems. Records of the age of these are not kept. Work to ensure key departmental IT systems are refreshed, updated and maintained is taken forward on an ongoing basis. There are therefore no systems in use that remain in their original installation state. Independent, specialist checks of key IT systems are undertaken at least annually to check they have been updated and any previously identified issues have been addressed. These checks supplement routine proactive checks undertaken internally through established service management practices.

Aerospace Industry: UK Trade with EU

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the aerospace industry on ensuring that goods, products, and services will be able to swiftly cross the UK-EU border after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: We are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for aerospace. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and his Ministerial colleagues continue to engage closely with the industry, including through our joint government and industry Aerospace Growth Partnership. We will continue to work closely with a wide range of UK businesses to make sure we reflect their concerns and deliver a deep and special partnership with the EU that enables UK-EU trade to be is as frictionless as possible.

Fracking: Lancashire

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has received an application for consent to hydraulic fracturing in respect of Preston New Road, Lancashire.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 23 April 2018



To date, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received an application for Hydraulic Fracture Consent in respect of Preston New Road, Lancashire.

Insulation: Preston

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department had with Preston City Council on the external cladding installed on the exterior of properties in the Fishwick, St Matthews and Town Centre wards under the Community Energy Saving Programme; and what assessment has been made of whether properties are unsafe to reside in due to risk of fire or mould.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 23 April 2018



The CESP programme is an energy efficiency scheme that obligated the largest gas and electricity suppliers and electricity generators to deliver energy saving measures to domestic consumers, in specific low income areas of Britain. The Department would not have been directly involved in discussions with local authorities or other stakeholders on specific installations although there was public consultation on the overall design of the scheme. The scheme concluded in December 2012. Preston City Council raised concerns with Ofgem (the scheme administrator) about mould in properties following completion of the retrofit works. Since then work has been undertaken under a collaborative effort to fix the problem. The work on these properties has taken longer than anticipated due to the seriousness of the issues affecting the structure of some properties. The first 62 properties are expected to be complete by the end of May, and structural surveys are being planned for the remaining properties. Energy efficiency retrofit work undertaken must be carried out in accordance with building regulations, including the fire safety and ventilation requirements.

Companies: Registration

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Companies House verify the information provided on who the (a) shareholders and (b) directors are on registration documents.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 23 April 2018



The Companies Act 2006 requires companies to file accurate information at Companies House. Companies House carries out a number of checks on all information filed. A company is obliged to appoint Directors with their consent. Companies House writes to all newly appointed directors upon receipt of their details to make them aware of their obligations as a director. A company is required to keep an up-to date register of its shareholders. A person is not legally a shareholder and is not entitled to the benefits of holding shares in a company, such as voting rights and dividends, until their holding is registered by the company. Companies House does not check the transactions when a company’s shares are transferred.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management: Scotland

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120003, how many photovoltaics installations through Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems there were in each constituency in Scotland.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many households by Scottish parliamentary constituency accessed green deal finance through Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 23 April 2018



Since the start of the Green Deal, the following number of households have received Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems in Scotland by constituency:  Households that have received Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems (HELMS)ConstituencyHouseholds receiving HELMS plans of which plans including photovoltaicsAberdeen North00Aberdeen South00Airdrie and Shotts8775Angus00Argyll and Bute1010Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock9081Banff and Buchan00Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk1816Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross00Central Ayrshire167149Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill111100Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East223214Dumfries and Galloway00Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale1-4 1-4 Dundee East1-4 1-4 Dundee West81-4 Dunfermline and West Fife3230East Dunbartonshire4031East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow233207East Lothian2121East Renfrewshire3225Edinburgh East1-4 1-4 Edinburgh North and Leith1-4 1-4 Edinburgh South1716Edinburgh South West1-4 1-4 Edinburgh West1817Na h-Eileanan an Iar00Falkirk7069Glasgow Central66Glasgow East7461Glasgow North1514Glasgow North East124103Glasgow North West1512Glasgow South1910Glasgow South West3627Glenrothes5655Gordon00Inverclyde8775Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey00Kilmarnock and Loudoun162146Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath4038Lanark and Hamilton East3630Linlithgow and East Falkirk5754Livingston7874Midlothian3331Moray00Motherwell and Wishaw7164North Ayrshire and Arran9680North East Fife1-4 1-4 Ochil and South Perthshire2020Orkney and Shetland00Paisley and Renfrewshire North293272Paisley and Renfrewshire South8872Perth and North Perthshire3130Ross, Skye and Lochaber00Rutherglen and Hamilton West252227Stirling3633West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine00West Dunbartonshire140131SCOTLAND3,0542,742- Note: Numbers greater than zero but less than five have been marked “1-4” as these figures are potentially disclosive and so have been suppressed. In total, these suppressed figures come to: 12 for ‘Households receiving HELMS plans’ and 16 for ‘of which plans including photovoltaics’.

Business: Environment Protection

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote environmental sustainability in businesses.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 125468, how many gas SMETS2 meters have been installed, and how many of those meters have been connected to the DCC.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Members for Ashfield and Blaenau Gwent of 5 March 2018 on the Mineworkers Pension Scheme.

Claire Perry: I have replied to the hon. Members.

Research: Cost Effectiveness

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has conducted an economic assessment of the value of early-phase research including the inward investment generated by early phase trials; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Industrial Strategy White Paper sets out the central role of science in meeting the UK’s productivity challenge. The UK economy gets a high rate of return for our investment in Science – 20% per annum in perpetuity. The UK research base is highly productive in terms of article and citation outputs per researcher and per pound spent on R&D. With only 0.9% of the global population, 4.1% of researchers, the UK accounts for 6.3% of research articles, 10.7% of citations and 15.2% of the most highly-cited research articles.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Malaysia: Elections

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for free and fair elections in Malaysia of the re-drawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries in that country.

Boris Johnson: I am aware of concerns related to the electoral boundary changes introduced by the Election Commission. We will be monitoring their impact, and have discussed the importance of free and fair elections with the Malaysian Government at the highest levels. Most recently the Minister for Asia and the Pacific raised these issues with the Malaysian Senate President on 18 April.

Malaysia: Freedom of Expression

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on freedom of speech and expression in Malaysia of the Anti-Fake News Bill recently passed by the Malaysian Parliament.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications of provisions in the Anti-Fake News Bill recently passed by the Malaysian Parliament, which apply to reporting by foreign media organisations, for the ability of the BBC World Service to operate freely in that country.

Boris Johnson: I am concerned about the potential implications the new Anti-Fake News Bill could have, including for British citizens, media and business, and that this Bill was passed without meaningful public consultation or debate. The UK has, along with European partners, written to the Malaysian Government setting out our concerns, including around the potential extra territorial effects of the Bill, and requesting a meeting to discuss this. Most recently, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific discussed this issue with the Malaysian Senate President on 18 April. The UK will continue to promote freedom of expression and the right of the media including foreign media organisations, to report honestly and impartially.

EU Immigration

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to negotiate bilateral alternatives to the EU Mobility Partnerships.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 23 April 2018



The UK is considering its future migration, mobility and asylum relationships with other states post-Brexit. We hope to continue to cooperate on the issue of migration and build upon the relationships we already have.

Vietnam: Religious Freedom

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Vietnamese Government on the need to respect fundamental freedoms and the freedom of religion.

Mark Field: ​We discuss human rights on a regular basis with the Vietnamese government both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. At the UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue in January 2018, I expressed concern at the restrictions on civil and political rights in Vietnam, including freedom of expression and assembly, and stressed the need for the Vietnamese government to create space for civil society. The UK also raised concerns about worsening restrictions on freedom of expression in Vietnam at the 37th Human Rights Council in March.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: SCL Group

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total value is of services delivered to his Department through contracts with Strategic Communications Laboratories since 2010.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not held any contracts with Strategic Communication Laboratories since 2010.​

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of the funding for the UK Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme was spent on staff salaries in (a) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (b) the Marine Management Organisation and (c) UK Overseas Territory governments in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Sir Alan Duncan: During 2016-17 and 2017-18 the amount spent on staff salaries within Cefas was £153,000 and £578,000 respectively and in the Marine Management Organisation was £57,000 and £307,000 respectively in line with the support and advisory roles they provide. Within UK Overseas Territory Governments, salaries were £50,259 in 2016-17 and £109,148.81 in 2017-18.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding from the UK Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme was transferred directly to each of the Overseas Territory governments to spend on their local marine conservation priorities in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Overseas Territory Governments which received direct funding from the Blue Belt Programme were the Ascension Island Government (£300,000 in both 2016-17 and 2017-18), British Indian Ocean Territory Administration (£725,000 in 2017-18 to part fund a maritime patrol vessel), St Helena Government (£39,500 in 2017-18), Tristan Da Cunha Government (£140,000 in 2017-18) and the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (£52,500 in 2017-18). In both periods, up to £500,000 per year was available to all Territories through the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund (also known as Darwin Plus) for bespoke marine projects.

British Overseas Territories: Finance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many (a) turtles, (b) sharks and (c) seabirds were killed as a result of activities funded by the UK Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Sir Alan Duncan: All scientific surveys undertaken through the Blue Belt programme are designed in line with international best practice. There were no incidental mortalities of turtle or seabird species as a result of the scientific surveys undertaken through the Blue Belt programme in either 2016-17 or 2017-18. Where possible all sharks are released alive during surveys, but in 2017-18 seven sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) were killed through depredation by other species during surveys in Tristan da Cunha.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of by-catch was caught by activities funded by the UK Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme in each of the participating Overseas Territories in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Sir Alan Duncan: All scientific surveys undertaken through the Blue Belt programme are designed in line with international best practice, and undertake consideration of all potential impacts together with mitigation measures to limit such impacts, pre-deployment. There was no by-catch in 2016-17. During the 2017-18 fish stock assessment and tagging research, undertaken at the request of the Government of Tristan Da Cunha, specific gear was employed which limited the incidental mortality of non-target species but seven sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) were killed through depredation by other species.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many International Union for Conservation of Nature red-listed species were killed as a result of activities funded by the UK Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme in each of the participating Overseas Territories in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Sir Alan Duncan: All scientific surveys undertaken through the Blue Belt programme are designed in line with international best practice, particularly in terms of seabird mortality mitigation measures. No International Union for Conservation of Nature red-listed species were killed or injured when undertaking scientific surveys during 2016-17 or 2017-18.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Correspondence

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what procedures are in place for Ministers in all Government departments to respond to written Welsh correspondence in that language.

Chloe Smith: Government Departments have worked with the Welsh Language Commissioner to develop their schemes.Under the principle of equality, departments will write in Welsh to an individual, group or organisation which they know works mainly in Welsh, or which has already notified us that it prefers to receive letters in Welsh. It will also respond in Welsh following a face-to face meeting or telephone call conducted in Welsh where follow-up correspondence is required (unless they have indicated they would prefer a response in English).

Government Bills: Impact Assessments

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether impact assessments relating to Government bills are signed off by Ministers before legislation is introduced in Parliament.

Oliver Dowden: Where an impact assessment is published alongside a Government bill it is signed off by Ministers.

Department of Health and Social Care

Continuing Care

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applicants for NHS Continuing Healthcare died before a decision was made on their case by the relevant clinical commissioning group.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is not held. Data is published on the number of completed NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments in England on the NHS England statistical webpage, however, this does not specify whether or not the individual had died by the time of a decision on NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility. The data is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-chc-fnc/2017-18/

Continuing Care

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments have taken place after a claimant has died to establish whether that claimant's family or estate are entitled to claim that funding retrospectively.

Caroline Dinenage: In March 2012, deadlines were introduced for requests for an assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed periods of care’ between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2012 in England. The deadline for registering for a review of unassessed periods of care during this time period was 31 March 2013, after which approximately 63,000 requests for an assessment were received, with approximately 25,000 resulting in a full assessment. Individuals, their families, or a representative are currently able to request an assessment from their responsible clinical commissioning group for an NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed period of care’ for periods from 1 April 2012 onwards. Data is not currently held on the number of requests received or assessments carried out for an NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed period of care’ for periods from 1 April 2012 onwards.

Smoking

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on campaigns to promote the cessation of smoking in (a) 2016-17 and (b)  2017-18; and what funding he plans to allocate to such campaigns in 2018-19.

Steve Brine: Expenditure on smoking cessation advertising media by Public Health England (PHE) in 2016-17 was £1,520,000. The projected expenditure for smoking cessation campaigns for PHE campaigns in 2017-18 is £2,060,000. Figures for 2017-18 are provisional at this stage. A final amount will be available later in the year once all accounts have been finalised. Detailed planning is underway for 2018-19 smoking cessation campaigns; therefore at this stage advertising media allocations are not yet available.

Health Services: Private Sector

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set out total spending by NHS Commissioners on private health providers in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what total spending by NHS Commissioners was on private mental health treatment in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what total spending by NHS Commissioners was on private providers carrying out elective procedures in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS contracts were secured by private providers in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS contracts were secured by (a) NHS, (b) private and (c) other providers in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the value of NHS contracts secured by Virgin Care in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold all of the information centrally. Total spending by NHS Commissioners on private health providers in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available is shown in the table below. NHS Commissioners' spend on non NHS bodies by organisation typeYearTotal spend on independent sector £ million2006/072,1932007/082,9162008/093,4192009/104,1442010/114,7572011/125,3202012/135,6692013/146,4672014/158,0672015/168,8182016/179,007 Note: The numbers above have been collected separately from audited accounts data and may include estimates.

Hospitals

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital trusts have merged in the last three years.

Stephen Barclay: There have been two mergers and eight acquisitions over the three year period. These are shown in the tables below. Mergers TrustTarget Trust (if applicable)TypeTransaction Effective Date1South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation TrustNorth Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation TrustMergerApril 20172Central Manchester University NHS Foundation TrustUniversity Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation TrustMergerOctober 2017 Acquisitions  TrustTarget Trust (if applicable)TypeTransaction Effective Date1Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation TrustWest Middlesex University NHS TrustAcquisitionSeptember 20152South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustTorbay and Southern Devon Health and Care NHS TrustAcquisitionOctober 20153Mersey Care NHS Foundation TrustCalderstones Partnership NHS Foundation TrustAcquisitionJuly 20164Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation TrustManchester Mental Health and Social Care NHS TrustAcquisitionJanuary 20175Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation TrustBirmingham Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation TrustAcquisitionFebruary 20176Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustHinchingbrooke Health Care NHS TrustAcquisitionApril 20177Mersey Care NHS Foundation TrustLiverpool Community Health NHS TrustAcquisitionApril 20188University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation TrustHeart of England NHS Foundation TrustAcquisitionApril 2018

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has provided for research on tackling antibiotic-resistant bacteria in each of the last three years.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department has provided the following funding for research on antimicrobial resistance, the majority of which will have been directed at research on tackling antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Financial YearFunding provided2015/16£11,617,6332016/17£17,727,2282017/18£30,565,100 It is possible that a small number of programmes or projects on antibiotic-resistant bacteria also include research on other drug-resistant microbes or pathogens; it is not possible to separate out this funding from the above totals.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the total sleep-in back pay liability for providers in (a) North Wiltshire constituency and (b) Wiltshire County Council.

Caroline Dinenage: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on 26 February 2018 to Question 128962.

Mental Illness: Surveys

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the criteria are for the assessment of applications to use the data compiled by the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the criteria used to assess applications for the use of Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey data differs from (a) other mental health-related datasets and (b) other physical health-related datasets in the UK Data archive.

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications to use the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey data have been (a) submitted and (b) granted.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2007 dataset is available for secondary research under End User Licence (EUL) in the UK Data Service (UKDS) archive. The UKDS EUL terms and conditions require that:- Data can be downloaded from the UK Data Service into the researcher’s local environment;- Researchers can only use data for statistical research under a set of conditions that limit and control purpose and behaviour. Conditions of use are set out within the current End User and Special User Licences; and- Disclosure risk is managed by both the licence agreement with the researcher and the disclosure control applied within the design of the dataset. To further protect respondent confidentiality in line with current NHS Digital policy, the APMS 2014 is available for secondary research applications through the UKDS portal via the NHS Digital Data Access Request Service (DARS) and is subject to further assessment criteria:- The legal basis must be correct and appropriate; evidence of legal basis must cover all intended data flows and processing;- The Common Law Duty of Confidentiality must be met;- Adequate security controls must be in place for each controller(s) and processor(s), covering all processing and storage locations;- The application must provide a clear explanation of all intended purposes, and all processing activities;- The data requested must be justified by the purpose, and align with the application;- The application must evidence in plain English, the benefit to the health and social care system;- Information Commissioner's Office registration for all controller(s)/processor(s) must cover the proposed data processing;- The territory of use must be stated;- Onward sharing of data must be limited to anonymous data, or sub-licenced to allow this;- Data controller(s) must have an active data sharing framework contract in place;- European Union or commercially funded applications must ensure adequate controls are in place; and- Applications must demonstrate compliance with the Data Protection Act, Health and Social Care Act, Care Act, and the European Union General Data Protection Regulations. NHS Digital is currently looking at technical and governance options for creating a completely anonymised APMS 2014 dataset by the end of the year, which would be subject to the UKDS EUL terms and conditions only. Other survey datasets uploaded since November 2017 are available in two versions. The standard version can be accessed via the UKDS EUL terms and conditions, in the same way as APMS 2007. There is also an enhanced version subject to the same process and terms and therefore criteria as the APMS 2014. Applications for survey datasets uploaded before November 2017 are subject to the UKDS EUL terms and conditions only. Eleven applications to use the APMS 2014 dataset have been made but one was subsequently withdrawn by the applicant. Four have been granted access. The remaining six are currently being processed within standard Service Level timescales. Applications to previous datasets were made direct to the UKDS archive.

Drugs

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that medicines developed from public research are (a) accessible and (b) affordable.

Caroline Dinenage: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) provides support for the development of new drugs, medical devices, diagnostics and treatments, primarily through its investment in research infrastructure in the National Health Service and through a range of research funding programmes. NIHR-supported research supports the early translational and clinical development of new medicines and generates high quality evidence which is made available to inform decisions about the NHS and patients on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of medicines, including through National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. There is no explicit link between the terms of NIHR research grants and the price the NHS pays for medicines. NICE technology appraisal guidance, and the associated funding requirement, play an important role in ensuring that patients have access to cost-effective new medicines, including medicines developed from public research. NICE assesses important new medicines through a robust evaluation process. The NHS is required by law to ensure that all medicines recommended by NICE are generally funded within three months, ensuring patient access to cost-effective medicines in England. New medicines are not subject to payments under the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, and NHS England monitors access to innovative medicines via the Innovation Scorecard in recognition of the value this Government places on innovation. The Accelerated Access Review made recommendations to get transformative drugs and treatments to patients faster, while ensuring that the NHS gets value for money and remains at the forefront of innovation. The Department’s response sets out how it will work with industry and healthcare organisations to create an approvals system to ensure this happens. A total of £86 million of funding has already been committed to make the vision a reality.

Sapropterin

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many individual patient funding requests have been approved for the use of Kuvan.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Inequalities on 22 March, Col 488, what recent discussions he has had with BioMarin, the manufacturer of Kuvan, on the pricing of that drug.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that they have, over the last three years, received fewer than 10 Individual Funding Requests applications and therefore there have been fewer than 10 approvals relating to the use of Kuvan. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had further recent discussions with the manufacturer (BioMarin) since the oral contribution of my Rt. hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Inequalities (Jackie Doyle-Price).

Urinary Tract Infections

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that funding is provided for the training and recruitment of chronic urinary tract infection specialists in the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: Health Education England (HEE) supports the National Health Service by ensuring that the workforce has the right number, skills, values and behaviours, at the right time and the right place. HEE’s commissions for 2017/18 are included in their third national workforce plan for England, through which they are investing in the appropriate areas, which can be found at: https://hee.nhs.uk/our-work/workforce-strategy

Whittington Hospital

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received on the reopening to new patients of the Lower Urinary Tract Services Clinic in north London.

Steve Brine: A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 56 items of correspondence received since 1 April 2017 about the Lower Urinary Tract Services Clinic in north London. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only. The Trust has been working to address the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians following a service review of the Lower Urinary Tract Service, before the clinic is re-opened to new patients. The Trust is currently in negotiations with commissioners to establish the re-opening of the clinic in the 2018/19 contract.

Urinary Tract Infections

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating chronic urinary tract infections.

Steve Brine: This information is not collected. Clinical commissioning groups provide an estimate of their overall expenditure on problems of the genitourinary system in their annual Programme Budgeting data submission to NHS England. The aggregate value of these estimates was £3,146 million in financial year 2016/17.

Department of Health and Social Care: Cybercrime

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with key infrastructure providers on the steps they are taking to protect themselves from cyber-attack.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Government Departments and the National Cyber Security Centre have regular discussions with key infrastructure providers on their management of cyber risk. Ensuring the United Kingdom’s Critical National Infrastructure is secure and resilient against cyber-attack is a priority for the Government as set out in the National Cyber Security Strategy. This is supported by a significant programme of work to provide advice, guidance and support to infrastructure providers and develop effective regulatory frameworks. The Department works continuously with national bodies to ensure that the critical information technology infrastructure used by the health and care system is secure. Earlier this month the Department requested written assurances from critical information technology asset owners on the cyber security of those assets. Departmental officials have also met with the Senior Information Risk Owners of NHS Digital and NHS England within the last two weeks to discuss the security of the critical information technology infrastructure that they are responsible for providing to the health and social care system.

Pregnancy: Folic Acid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice his Department gives to pregnant women on folic acid.

Jackie Doyle-Price: To prevent pregnancies affected by neural tube defects, the Department supports the recommendation of NHS Choices which advises women to take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day prior to conception and in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Visual Impairment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were registered blind in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: As NHS Digital collects data on a triennial basis, data can only be provided for two of the last five years. The number of people who were registered as blind or severely sight impaired in 2013/14 and 2016/17, as well as the number of people who were newly registered in those years is shown in the table below. YearNumber of people registered blind or severely sight impaired*Number of new registrations*2013/14143,3858,8752016/17141,5258,605Source: NHS Digital - The Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People collection (SSDA902). Notes: Data is also collected on registrations from those who are partially sighted/sight impaired. The figures in the table relate only to those registered blind or severely sight impaired. *Data is rounded to the nearest five.

Midwives: Recruitment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the employment of 3,000 new midwives by the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: The Government has committed to increasing the number of available midwifery training places in England by more than 3,000 over a four year period. The increase in available places will start in the 2019 academic year, with an additional 650 training places made available, a 25% increase on the current available midwifery training places. Training of midwives outside of England is a matter for each of the devolved administrations in that country.

Tonsils: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) infection and (b) disease after tonsil removal operations.

Caroline Dinenage: The reduction of infection and disease following tonsil removal operations should be part of good medical and nursing practices and are already covered by a number of professional codes for example, hand hygiene, routine observation of surgical site and vital sign observations. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced the following guidelines to reduce surgical site and healthcare associated infection:-Surgical site infections: prevention and treatment (CG74 – published October 2008). This guideline covers preventing and treating surgical site infections in adults, young people and children who are having a surgical procedure involving a cut through the skin. It recommends effective methods to use before, during and after surgery to minimise the risk of infection. The guideline is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg74 - Healthcare-associated infections: prevention and control (PH36 – published November 2011). This quality improvement guide aims to reduce the risk of harm from healthcare-associated infections for patients, staff and visitors; and to reduce the costs associated with preventable infection. The guideline is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph36  - Sore throat (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (NG84 – published January 2018) sets out an antimicrobial prescribing strategy for acute sore throat with a view to limiting antibiotic use and reducing antimicrobial resistance. It covers the treatment of a sore throat (including pharyngitis and tonsillitis) but it does not cover care post tonsillectomy. The guideline is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng84

Dementia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of support provided for people with dementia.

Caroline Dinenage: In the Dementia 2020 Challenge, we have set a broad vision for transforming dementia care and support in England by 2020. In the accompanying Implementation Plan, which set out the actions the Department and its partners will take to ensure that the commitments in the Dementia 2020 Challenge are delivered, we set out specific actions to improve quality and levels of care. We are currently undertaking a review of the 2020 Challenge Implementation Plan to assess whether its actions have been achieved and establish what additional activity can be undertaken to ensure that the Dementia 2020 Challenge commitments are met as planned, so that England is recognised as the best country in the world for dementia care and support by 2020. A key commitment in the Dementia 2020 Challenge was the development of effective metrics across the health and care system to track progress. To that end, the dementia profile, which has been developed by Public Health England’s Dementia Intelligence Network, provides access to local data and intelligence across the care pathway for benchmarking purposes and to enable localities to make sustainable improvements in services and outcomes. To understand the experiences of people with dementia better, we have also established a Citizens’ Engagement Panel, which will be used to inform and improve the ongoing delivery of the Dementia 2020 Implementation Plan and to influence and improve the delivery of front-line dementia care services, to ensure they better meet the needs expressed by people with dementia and their carers. The Economic and Social Research Council and National Institute for Health Research have issued a joint funding call for projects looking at dementia prevention, interventions and care delivery. Proposals have been invited for projects that will look at care delivery across all care settings and successful projects will inform health and social care practice and policy relating to dementia, supporting people in their communities and making a difference to the lives of people with dementia and their carers and families.

Eating Disorders

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the NHS in implementing early intervention measures for people who have eating disorders.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government recognises that early intervention is absolutely vital and is committed to ensuring everyone with an eating disorder has access to timely treatment. For children and young people, the Government set up the first waiting times to improve access to eating disorders services for children and young people - so that by 2020/21 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases. Latest figures indicate that the National Health Service is on track to meet that standard with almost 76.9% of all patients starting urgent treatment within one week and 83.1% of patients starting routine treatment within four weeks (third quarter of 2017-2018). The data is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cyped-waiting-times/ The Government announced in 2014 that it would invest £150 million to expand eating disorder community-based care and as a result 70 dedicated new or extended community services are now either open or in development. This means at least 3,350 children and young people a year will receive swift, effective eating disorder treatment in the community. For adults, a care pathway together with detailed implementation guidance for providers is under development by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The pathway is being fully informed by the available evidence and the views of experts and will increase healthcare professionals’ awareness of the early signs and symptoms of eating disorders so that they are able to refer without delay and intervene early.

Mental Health Services: Greater Manchester

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will ensure additional ongoing financial support for the provision of mental health services in Greater Manchester to assist those affected by the Manchester Arena attack.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has committed to making £800,000 available in both 2018/19 and 2019/20 for post incident health support following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack. This covers the period until the next Spending Review settlement when funding for Manchester will be reassessed taking into account all mental health requirements.

Suicide

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage collaboration between the (a) NHS, wider public sector and (c) charities sector to (i) identify and (ii) support those at risk of suicide.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We updated the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy last year to strengthen delivery of its key areas for action across Government, its agencies and other sectors including the voluntary and charitable sector. The Government has worked in partnership for a number of years with a range of organisations and sectors including the National Health Service, rail industry and with voluntary and charitable sector organisations such as the Samaritans. The Government continues to provide funding for the National Suicide Prevention Alliance, established through a call to action in the 2012 Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy and comprising mostly voluntary and charitable sector organisations that work towards reducing suicide and self-harm. We are ensuring that every local area has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place and we will be quality assuring those plans this year. Local multi-agency suicide prevention groups include all local organisations and services that may come into contact with someone at risk of suicide to implement tailored approaches to reducing suicide in their communities. NHS England has been working with a wide range of suicide prevention stakeholders to set the priorities for investing £25 million on suicide prevention, between 2018/19 and 2020/21, through the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. This includes establishing a national quality improvement programme on suicide prevention across the NHS and providing funding to sustainability and transformation plan areas to improve local area multi-agency suicide prevention plans.

Drugs

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential savings to be accrued to the public purse of the return of unused medicines to the NHS.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no assessment of the potential savings to be accrued to the public purse from the return of unused medicines to the National Health Service. The Department is concerned about wastage from unused medicines and is keen to minimise unnecessary extra costs. However, it does not promote the reuse of medicines that have left the pharmacy and been returned to a pharmacy by patients, as it is not possible to guarantee the quality of a returned medicine on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patients’ homes, there is no way of knowing how the medicines have been stored or handled. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society publication, ‘Medicines Ethics and Practice - The professional guide for pharmacists (July 2017)’ states, “patients should be advised that unused, unwanted medicines should be returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal”

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the Green Paper on Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We plan to publish a Government response to the consultation on the Green Paper ahead of summer recess.

NHS: Databases

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of ring-fencing part of the rebate paid by the pharmaceutical industry in the next iteration of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme for the purposes of investing in NHS data infrastructure.

Steve Brine: Under the current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) all payments go back into spending on improving patients’ health and care. Following normal Government accounting rules, there is no separately identified ring-fenced funding stream associated with the PPRS payment. Informal discussions have already begun with industry regarding future medicines pricing arrangements. Formal negotiations will begin shortly.

Speech Therapy: Children and Young People

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that every child and young person who stammers will be able to access speech and language therapy when needed; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The universal Healthy Child Programme includes a number of child development reviews at specific ages. The review at age 2 – 2½ is a crucial stage when problems such as speech and language delay or behavioural issues become visible and can be addressed by the health visitor before the child starts school. Clinical commissioning groups and local authorities have a legal duty to make joint arrangements for assessing the needs of children likely to have special educational needs. Since May 2016, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have been inspecting local areas on their effectiveness in fulfilling these new duties.

Ebola

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to the Ebola contingency fund; and how much of that funding has been reallocated to other programmes.

Steve Brine: In 2018 the Department provided £4 million of Official Development Assistance funding to the World Health Emergencies Programme Contingency Fund which was set up in 2015 following the Ebola outbreak. The World Health Organization is responsible for the allocation of funds provided to the World Health Emergencies Programme Contingency Fund.

Life Expectancy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library all reports and data analyses his Department has produced which relate to life expectancy in each of the last eight years; and whether his Department plans to publish such data and analyses in the future.

Steve Brine: A record of all Departmental publications reports and data analyses relating to life expectancy in the eight years is not held centrally and to collate all relevant documents would incur disproportionate cost. Public Health England is planning to publish analyses of life expectancy in the future, including in the next Health Profile for England which will be released in September 2018.

Life Expectancy: Females

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Office for National Statistics data on life expectancies, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change in life expectancy at birth for females between 2009-11 and 2014-16 in (a) Uttesford, (b) Cheltenham, (c) Castle Point, (d) Purbeck, (e) East Staffordshire, and (f) Tendring.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) is working with academic partners to produce a model to help determine underlying trends in life expectancy for all English local authorities. This model will take into account the revised population estimates recently issued by the Office for National Statistics. PHE expects to be able to report on the results of this analysis later in 2018. Care needs to be taken when analysing and interpreting local authority data as their small populations mean their life expectancy is subject to fluctuations from year to year.

Diseases

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of (a) tuberculosis, (b) rickets and (c) measles were recorded in each month in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: The data for cases of tuberculosis (TB) for the last 12 months are not available in the format requested. The most recent provisional data for the number and rate of TB cases notified in England in 2017 are available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693328/TB_ad_hoc_statistics_March_2018.pdfData on the number of cases of rickets recorded in England for each of the last 12 months are not available in the format requested. The latest data available on the number of confirmed cases of rickets in England can be found here:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/find-data-and-publications/supplementary-information/2018-supplementary-information-files/count-of-finished-admission-episodes-faes-with-a-primary-or-secondary-diagnosis-of-scurvy-rickets-and-malnutrition-supplementary-informationData on the number of cases of measles recorded in England for each of the last 12 months are not available in the format requested. The latest data available on the number of confirmed measles cases in England can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-mumps-and-rubella-laboratory-confirmed-cases-in-england-2017.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will be supported to maintain its status as a world-leading regulator.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is a strong national regulator with substantial capacity and expertise to regulate and evaluate the safety of our medicines and medical devices. The Agency is recognised globally for its expertise in licensing, inspections and batch release, and their pharmacovigilance regime is globally recognised and respected. Furthermore, the Agency is considered a leader within the European Union regulatory framework. The Government has been clear about our desire to negotiate a close relationship with the EU, including exploring with the EU the terms on which the United Kingdom could remain part of the European Medicines Agency. This was reinforced by my Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister in her Mansion House speech of 2 March. Nevertheless the MHRA will seek to become an even more influential partner internationally in its own right, and is committed to being a global leader, focusing on raising the quality of standards across the world. The Agency is also committed to continuing cooperation with international fora, including the International Medical Device Regulators Forum, the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities and the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Human Use. The form that UK participation takes in some of these groups will depend on the outcome of the Future Economic Partnership negotiations with the EU.

Mental Illness: Personal Health Budgets

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124498, on Mental Illness: Personal Health Budgets, how many people were in receipt of a personal health budget specifically to meet mental health needs in 2016-17.

Caroline Dinenage: In 2016/17 1,037 people had personal health budgets specifically to meet mental health needs.

Research

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of leaving the EU on early-phase clinical research.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government has made clear that a key priority through the negotiations will be to ensure that the United Kingdom remains one of the best places in the world for science and innovation, including on early phase research and clinical trials. Every Government department, including the Department of Health and Social Care, is planning to deliver a smooth exit under any scenario, which includes preparing the UK for the future economic partnership we hope to negotiate with the European Union, as well as the very unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached and the UK exits without a deal. The UK is already a preferred destination for EU and global clinical trials – where much early phase research is concentrated. The Government has been clear that it is in the interest of patients and the Life Sciences industry across Europe for the UK and EU to find a way to continue cooperation in the field of clinical trials, and for continued sharing of data and information, even if our precise relationship with the EU will by necessity change. The Government is committing to being as aligned with the new EU Clinical Trials Regulation as we possibly can be, subject to the outcome of the future relationship negotiation. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) provides the support, expertise and facilities that the National Health Service needs to undertake world-leading early-phase research funded by the NIHR, and other public, charity and life sciences industry partners, by funding a range of infrastructure facilities. Through NIHR and its partners, and by close collaboration with the life sciences sector and industry, the Government will ensure that the UK remains one of the best places in the world for research, science and innovation.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many IT systems which her Department uses are more than (a) three, (b) five and (c) eight years old; and what steps she is taking to ensure that all her Department's IT systems are updated promptly.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID has:24 IT systems more than 3 years old;21 IT systems more than 5 years old; and3 IT systems more than 8 years old.The key productivity systems are updated with patches on a regular basis, in line with our department’s patching policy. Urgent security patches are applied immediately subject to successful testing. Some of the systems have annual upgrades applied to them.

Egypt: Economic Situation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department provides to support programmes to improve the economy of Egypt.

Alistair Burt: The UK is helping to address Egypt’s economic and demographic challenges as part of our support for the transition to long-term stability in North Africa. The DFID/FCO North Africa Joint Unit is responsible for assistance provided through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This includes a £15 million partnership with the World Bank from 2016-2020 to create jobs and promote social inclusion; and a £2 million partnership with the International Finance Corporation over 2017-2020 to help support Egyptian start-ups and entrepreneurs. We are providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance and other parts of the Egyptian Government to help implement economic reforms. We are also planning to fund research into economic reform policy in Egypt. In 2017 DFID provided a $150 million guarantee to the World Bank for a $1.15bn Development Policy Loan to Egypt, focused on supporting economic reform and promoting jobs and inclusive growth in Egypt. DFID also funds the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (each providing £10 million for the region). Over five years (2015-2020), AWEF’s goal is to improve the income and well-being of 150,000 women across Egypt and Jordan by addressing systematic barriers facing different sectors of the economy. The fund has a target of 120,000 direct and indirect women beneficiaries in Egypt.

Yemen: Overseas Aid

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the total amount of aid is that the UK plans to send to Yemen in 2018.

Alistair Burt: At the Yemen Pledging Event in Geneva on 3 April, I announced that the UK would be providing £170 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for the financial year 2018/2019. This funding will meet immediate food needs for 2.5 million Yemenis, and comes on top of over £400 million in bilateral support since the conflict began in 2015.

Department for International Development: Databases

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) external data analysts and (b) data collection companies her Department has used in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: This information is not held centrally within the department.Details of all DFID’s contracts with suppliers above the OJEU threshold are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive. Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Department for International Development: Menstrual Hygiene Day

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to promote Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May 2018; and what events she is planning to (a) attend and (b) organise.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is committed to enabling all girls and women to manage menstruation safely, hygienically and with dignity, allowing them to stay in school and fully participate in society during their period. International Menstrual Hygiene Day is an opportunity to break the silence and raise awareness of the UK’s excellent work supporting menstrual hygiene management through health, girls’ education and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The Department is currently assessing the options for the most effective way to mark the day.

Rohingya: Sexual Offences

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what specific steps her Department is taking to support survivors of sexual violence in Rohingya refugee camps.

Alistair Burt: DFID is supporting a range of organisations providing specialised help to survivors of sexual violence in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. This includes 19 women’s centres, which are providing safe space, psychosocial support and activities to women and girls. We are also funding case management for over 2,000 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

Rohingya: Sexual Offences

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to support programmes on (a) sexual and reproductive health and (b) assistance for survivors of gender based violence for Rohingya women and girls.

Alistair Burt: DFID has provided almost £2m for services relating to both sexual reproductive health and rights, and assistance for survivors of gender-based violence for Rohingya people. DFID has also deployed specialist expertise to support its own response and that of the wider international community in this area. This expertise includes the coordinator for the Gender-Based Violence sector in Cox’s Bazar and a Sexual Reproductive Health Coordinator, both working with UNFPA.

Human Trafficking

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will introduce the use of the Dun and Bradsheet human trafficking risk index when allocating funding.

Alistair Burt: Tackling modern slavery is a priority for DFID, and we are expanding our work in developing countries through £40 million of new programming that will reach at least 500,000 people at risk of slavery. Businesses have a key role to play in tackling modern slavery, and though we are not currently using the Dun & Bradstreet Index, we are supportive of approaches like these which help business assess risk in their supply chains. Through our Responsible, Accountable, and Transparent Enterprises Programme, we are working with organisations including the Ethical Trading Initiative, the World Benchmarking Alliance, and Humanity United to develop responsible business approaches.

Yemen: Food Supply

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many projects on food insecurity in Yemen are sponsored by her Department.

Alistair Burt: DFID funds three programmes focused on food security: the World Food Programme’s Emergency Operations in Yemen; a multisector Humanitarian Response Programme supporting 10 NGOs to avert famine in remote and inaccessible areas; and the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which awards grants to NGOs and UN agencies to increase food security.

Yemen: Food Supply

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to food insecurity programmes in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: In the financial year 2018/19, we have provisionally allocated £87 million towards three programmes with a focus on food security: the World Food Programme’s Emergency Operations in Yemen; multisector Humanitarian Response Programme supporting 10 NGOs to deliver activities to avert famine in remote and inaccessible areas; and the Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which awards grants to NGOs and UN agencies to increase food security.

Yemen: Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which projects her Department sponsors to support child education in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: DFID supports the education of children in Yemen through two multilateral funds: Education Cannot Wait and the Global Partnership for Education. DFID also supports Yemen’s Social Fund for Development’s work on education, including child education.

Yemen: Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much money her Department has committed to improve child education in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: DFID supports the education of children in Yemen through two multilateral funds: Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). DFID provides 32% ($4.8 million) of the ECW’s funding of $15 million in Yemen over 2017-19, and 15% ($10.89 million) of the GPE’s funding of $72.6 million in Yemen over 2014-19. DFID’s £108 million in funding to Yemen’s Social Fund for Development over 2010-17 includes £30 million towards education.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Free School Meals

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to assess his Department's level of funding for universal infant free school meals in light of the rising cost of food.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an estimate of (a) how much the price of food will change over the next five years and (b) whether that change in price will have an effect on the provision of universal free school meals.

Nadhim Zahawi: The £2.30 per meal that we provide to schools to fund universal infant free school meals is based on the School Food Trust’s survey estimate of the average cost of a primary school meal, and on discussion with stakeholders and school food experts. This is a realistic and fair basis for funding free school meals.Decisions about school funding beyond 2020 will be taken at the next spending review.

Primary Education: Free School Meals

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of its policy on Universal Infant Free School Meals.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he will undertake an assessment of the effect on children of the universal infant free school meal policy.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of universal infant free school meals on children's health and nutrition.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of universal infant free school meals on children's attainment levels.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education and the Department for Health carried out a robust pilot of universal free school meals between 2009 and 2011. The evaluation of this pilot found that take-up of school meals was significantly higher in the pilot areas compared with control areas, and there was a significant positive impact on attainment for primary school pupils, with pupils in the pilot areas making between four and eight weeks’ more progress than similar pupils in comparison areas.Take-up of the meals is a key success measure for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), and we monitor this on a termly basis through the schools census. We know that a balanced and nutritious meal, which includes vegetables and fruit, is good for the health and well-being of children. According to the latest figures, 1.5 million infant pupils (excluding those eligible for benefits-based free school meals) took a lunch on census day – a take-up rate of 85.9%.

Free School Meals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that children registered for free school meals access a hot meal each day; and which agency is responsible for the enforcement of the standards of free school meals.

Nadhim Zahawi: We expect schools to provide hot meals. The legal requirement on schools is to provide a lunchtime meal that meets the school food standards, where they apply. School governing boards are responsible for ensuring that school food standards are met.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the £200 self-contribution that disabled students in higher education must make to access funding for computer equipment, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of the British Assistive Technology Association’s suggestion that the contribution is reviewed and students are able to have that charge added to their student loan.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Eligible higher education students are able to access maintenance loans, which are paid as a contribution towards a student’s living costs at university. All students require access to a computer so this is now a mainstream cost to participate in higher education, and we believe it is reasonable for any student to fund the purchase of a standard computer for email and word processing purposes from their maintenance support. The cost of a standard computer has been calculated at around £200. Any disabled student recommended a higher-powered computer to run assistive software is funded for any costs in excess of £200. Students are not expected to fund any assistive software or the training to use it. We do not consider it is necessary to provide an additional £200 in the form of a loan, given that this is a cost all students are expected to fund as part of their maintenance.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the £200 self-contribution that disabled students in higher education must make to access funding for computer equipment, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of that charge on the ability of disabled students to (a) access essential equipment and (b) continue with their education.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Since 2015 eligible students have been required to pay £200 towards the cost of computer equipment recommended for them, given that computer ownership is now widespread and therefore a mainstream cost for all students. In December 2014 the government published an Equality Analysis of the changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs), in advance of the introduction of the £200 student contribution to computer costs from September 2015. The analysis is available to view here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/392610/bis-14-1108-higher-education-disabled-students-allowances-equality-analysis-revised-16-12-2014.pdf. The department has commissioned a research project to explore the impact of DSAs on eligible students, including the impact of recent reforms. The research findings will be responded to when they are available in spring 2018.

Care Homes: Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 5 March 2018 to Question 129958, what information his Department holds on the qualification levels held by children's residential care staff in England.

Nadhim Zahawi: Providers of children’s residential care are responsible for ensuring their members of staff are suitably qualified. The department does not regularly collect information about the qualification levels of care staff. However, the Department for Education commissioned a census of the children’s homes workforce and the report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/391529/RR437_-_Children_s_homes_workforce_census_.pdf.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have applied for the disabled student's allowance in each of the last three years.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been paid out to disabled students allowances in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The table below provides information on the numbers of English-domiciled students who have applied for and received Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) in the last three years.  Full-time undergraduate studentsPart-time undergraduate studentsPostgraduate studentsAcademic yearNumber of studentsAmount paid (million)Number of studentsAmount paid (million)Number of studentsAmount paid (million)2013/1460,200£134.22,700£6.65,600£11.92014/1559,900£132.23,500£8.65,800£11.02015/1658,900£115.63,800£8.95,600£10.62016/17*54,900£92.13,400£6.47,100£11.4 *Figures for 2016/17 are provisional.(Source: Student Loans Company http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx) Although we do not yet have full-year data for 2016/17, we expected to see a reduction in DSAs’ take-up from 2016/17 as higher education providers are now expected to provide less specialist non-medical help for disabled students as part of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.

Universities: Admissions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department's policy is on encouraging working class students to attend university.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Widening participation to higher education is a priority for this government. It is vital that everyone with the capability to succeed in higher education has the opportunity to benefit from a university education, regardless of background. University application rates for 18-year-olds to full-time study remain at record levels, including those from disadvantaged areas.  Our first guidance to the Office for Students, asked them to encourage providers to make further progress in ensuring that students from areas of low higher education participation, low household income and/or low socio-economic status, can access, participate and succeed in higher education.  A new transparency condition will require higher education providers to publish application, offer, acceptance, non-continuation and attainment rates by socio-economic background, gender and ethnicity, which will provide greater transparency and help drive fairness on admissions and outcomes

Further Education: Contracts

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish the subcontracting management fees for all further education providers for 2016-17.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Education and Skills Funding Agency will publish on GOV.UK the level of funding paid and retained by providers for each of their subcontractors that delivered full programmes or frameworks during the academic year 2016 to 2017 in June 2018.

Education

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has conducted any impact assessments on the effect on the British education system of the UK leaving the EU.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are working with departments across government, in close coordination with the Department for Exiting the European Union, to carry out a programme of work to inform our negotiating position with the EU and our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. Where appropriate, an impact assessment often accompanies major bills and regulations to illustrate the effects of the changes. For example, the government published an Impact Assessment alongside the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. We will continue publishing Impact Assessments to accompany legislation, where appropriate.

Children's Centres

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start children’s centres there are there in England.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children using Sure Start Children's Centres in each year since 2010.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of Sure Start centres offer a referral-only service.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local councils supply data on the number of children’s centres in England through the Department for Education’s “Get Information about Schools” (GIAS) database at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/. The department does not hold data on the number of children using children’s centres or the type of services offered through children’s centres centrally. This data is held at a local area level.

Secondary Education: Pupil Exclusions

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many secondary school children have been off-rolled by their school in (a) the London Borough of Lewisham, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last seven years.

Nick Gibb: The Department does collect, via the school census, figures for the number of children on the schools admission register at three points during each academic year, but this will not provide a full or accurate indication of the numbers of pupils removed from the school register.The grounds on which a pupil’s name can be lawfully deleted from a school’s admission register are prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended.

Universities UK: Freedom of Information

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to make Universities UK subject to Freedom of Information requests.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Universities UK does not meet the criteria for being added to the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and there are no plans to alter this.

Young People: Unemployment

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information the Government holds on the number of young people not in education, employment or training in Newcastle.

Nadhim Zahawi: Official national and regional estimates of the number of young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England and the UK are taken from the labour force survey. Because this is survey data it cannot be disaggregated to local authority level due to sample sizes. Local authorities are required to monitor and record the extent to which young people are meeting their duty to participate in education or training and provide local statistics to the department. This information is published on GOV.UK as transparency data and is available via the following links. Participation of 16 and 17 year olds in education or training: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-in-education-and-training-by-local-authority. 16 and 17 year olds NEET and not known: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-data-by-local-authority-2012-16-to-18-year-olds-not-in-education-employment-or-training.NEET and not known local authority scorecards: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/young-people-neet-comparative-data-scorecard.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussion he has had with representatives of the  British Assistive Technology Association on the £200 self-contribution required from disabled students who are in receipt of Disability Support Allowance funded equipment.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Since 2015 eligible students have been required to pay £200 towards the cost of computer equipment recommended for them, given that computer ownership is now widespread and therefore a mainstream cost for all students. Officials in the Department for Education have met British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) representatives on a number of occasions to discuss Disability Support Allowances. In those discussions, BATA has raised the issue of the 2015 changes that introduced a £200 contribution to the cost of recommended computer equipment.

Teachers: Recruitment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many secondary school teachers have been recruited in each year since 2010, and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Teachers: Training

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the number of people enrolling in secondary education teacher training.

Nick Gibb: The Government recognises the importance of increasing the number of trainees in secondary education training and is committed to focusing funding on secondary subjects. While enrolment in secondary education teacher training in 2017/18 was slightly down on numbers in 2015/16 and 2016/17, the overall trend is positive with postgraduate recruitment at its highest level since 2011/12. To ensure that secondary education teacher training continues to attract talented graduates, the Department focuses funding on secondary subjects. This includes offering increased bursaries, typically worth up to £26,000, for priority subjects such as maths and physics. The Department has also taken further steps to improve this year’s recruitment figures. These steps include boosting our marketing and support to applicants, making it easier to take the skills test, and working with providers to ensure that more applicants who are ready to train to teach are accepted.

Part-time Education

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps Government is taking to (a) support people who want to study part-time and (b) encourage flexible learning.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Studying part-time can bring enormous benefits to the individual, and also to the economy and employers.To enable part-time students meet the full cost of their tuition the government introduced up-front fee loans for the first time in 2012/13. We are further enhancing the student finance package for part-time students by introducing maintenance loans, equivalent to full-time, in 2018/19. We also intend to extend the part-time maintenance loan to eligible students studying distance learning courses in 2019/20, subject to the development of a robust control regime to manage the particular risks and challenges associated with this mode of study.Since 2015/16 graduates starting a second honours degree course part-time in engineering, technology or computer science have qualified for fee loans for their course. The government extended this from 2017/18 to graduates starting a second honours degree course part-time in any science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject.The government legislated in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 for the Office for Students (OfS) to have regard to part-time study and the OfS has a duty to promote choice and opportunities in the provision of higher education.Accelerated degrees allow students to enter the workplace more quickly than a traditional course would permit. We legislated in the Higher Education and Research Act to allow a specific fee cap to be set for accelerated degrees, removing a key barrier to their wider availability. We recently completed a public consultation about the provision of accelerated degree courses, and will respond later this year.Transfer between courses and providers can also support flexible learning. The OfS will have a duty to monitor and report on arrangements for student transfer, and a power to facilitate, encourage, or promote awareness of such arrangements.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to provide more information on the roll-out of 30 hours free childcare for fostered children.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department is working with local authorities, fostering service providers, foster carers and others in the sector to develop plans to allow foster carers to access the additional 30 hours free childcare for their foster children where it is right for the child. We plan to implement this change in time for September 2018. More detail will be set out shortly.

Students: Loans

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number students in receipt of an NHS Bursary who have been incorrectly awarded a maintenance loan; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: 793 Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions students are currently known to have received an overpayment of student support because of an error by the Student Loans Company (SLC). The government announced on 18 April 2018 that the SLC will provide support to ensure that none of the students affected by the error suffer hardship. Students affected by this error will be eligible to apply for additional, non-repayable, support of up to £1,000 for the remainder of this academic year, and should contact SLC. In addition, repayment of overpaid maintenance support will be deferred for all students affected until they have finished their courses and can afford to repay.

Pupils: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average Attainment 8 score was per pupil who was (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals in (i) Ashfield, (ii) Mansfield and (iii) Rushcliffe in 2017.

Nick Gibb: The average Attainment 8 score of pupils, at the end of key stage 4[1] in state-funded schools[2], split by eligibility for free school meals (FSM)[3] in each requested parliamentary constituency[4] for 2016/17[5] is in the attached table. [1] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in Year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.[2] State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools and alternative provision.[3] Eligibility for FSM is taken from the school census for that year. Pupils whose FSM status is unknown are included as ‘all other pupils’.[4] Figures are based on the parliamentary constituency of the pupil’s postcode and not the school’s postcode, therefore they will not match the published data from the ‘pupil residency and school location tables’ located here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2015-to-2016.[5] Figures are based on revised data.



Average_attainment_8_score_at_the_end_of_KS4
(Word Document, 31 KB)

Apprentices: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship starts there have been in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) the East Midlands at every level offered in each of the last four quarters.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The attached tables provide the number of apprenticeship starts in each of the last four academic year quarters for a) Nottingham unitary authority and b) the East Midlands region broken down by each level. For additional geographical and level breakdowns please see the Apprenticeships Geography tools in the Further Education data library:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.



Apprenticecship_starts_Nottingham_East_Midlands
(PDF Document, 116.31 KB)

Social Workers: Training

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the open tender number 142495 on Tenders Electronic Daily which was  submitted by his Department to train 700 to 900 social workers is related to the Frontline programme; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The published Prior Information Notice is to notify the market of the potential opportunity to bid for a successor contract to the current Frontline programme. It is not a tender notice to mark the start of a procurement.We are currently considering options for continuity of both of the fast-track social work education programmes operated by the Department for Education: Step Up and Frontline. Each of these programmes makes a valuable contribution to bringing high performing, high potential individuals into the profession.The government shall be taking a decision as to next steps in the process in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Courts: Closures

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which courts closed since 2010 have yet to be sold; and what the annual maintenance costs have been of each of those court premises.

Lucy Frazer: Of the courts that have closed since 2010, the following have yet to be sold or disposed of: Maintenance Costs*  (financial year)CourtClosure Date Disposal Progress***17/18** (£)16/17 (£)15/16 (£)Abergavenny Magistrates’ CourtOctober 2013Exchanged4,8666,0071,907Alton Magistrates’ CourtSeptember 2014Exchanged5,8245,963575Birmingham Youth CourtJanuary 2018Pre-marketing2,12800Bournemouth Magistrates’ CourtJanuary 2017Exchanged22,0288690Brecon Law CourtSeptember 2016Exchanged6,7072,6970Caerphilly Magistrates’ CourtMay 2016Exchanged7,39912,1890Chichester Magistrates’ CourtJune 2017Transfer to Homes England4,96000East Parade - Sheffield TribunalJune 2017Pre-Marketing5,83800Keighley (Bingley) Magistrates’ CourtDecember 2011Under Offer3,17610,3323,509Liverpool, Dale Street Magistrates’June 2015Pre-Marketing/Contractual Issues042,38126,101Llangefni County CourtAugust 2017Exchanged3,50100Lyndhurst Magistrates’ CourtApril 2011Under Offer3,9242,673556Oswestry Magistrates’/County CourtApril 2013Under Offer2,9743,2351,012Runcorn (Halton) Magistrates' CourtJanuary 2017Pre-Marketing10,39800Southampton Combined Court - Barrack BlockJune 2016Marketing13,7686,0990Telford County CourtSeptember 2017Transfer to Homes England11,37800Torquay Magistrates' CourtSeptember 2017Marketing5,58300Watford Magistrates’ CourtJuly 2017In solicitors’ hands8,83300* Maintenance costs include planned and emergency works on court sites that includes works to repair or preserve the fabric of the building as well as utilities, fixtures and fittings.** figures provided are up to 28 February 2018*** Summary of disposal status:StatusDescriptionExchangedContracts have been exchanged between the buyer and seller, this is the stage before completion.Under OfferAn offer from a potential purchaser has been received and is under consideration.MarketingThe property is being advertised to potential buyersPre-marketingThis phase includes investigations to support strategic decisions made on the portfolio and or future value maximisationIn solicitors’ handsConveyancing is underway and contracts are being negotiated with the preferred party.TransferThe property has been or is due to be transferred to Homes England (formerly the Homes and Communities Agency) or the Education Funding AgencyThe information requested relating to annual maintenance costs for period prior to the 2015/16 financial year could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Administration of Justice: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has received representations on the level of availability of interpreters willing to travel for judicial proceedings in Northern Ireland; and if he will take steps to ensure the provision of interpreters from England and Wales for such proceedings in Northern Ireland.

Lucy Frazer: The provision of services required to support the administration of justice to the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS), is a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. The Ministry of Justice has robust language service arrangements in place to support Northern Ireland sittings of the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) and the Upper Tribunal tribunals, which covers the whole of the United Kingdom. Where requested to do so, my officials will share the Ministry of Justice register of available interpreters with their NICTS counterparts, to support the wider administration of the Northern Ireland justice system.

Family Courts: Domestic Violence

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of cases involving domestic abuse in the family courts special protection measures were implemented in each of the last three years.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of cases involving domestic abuse in the family courts separate entrances and exits were utilised as a special protection measure in each of the last three years.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of cases involving domestic abuse in the family courts video links were utilised as a special protection measure in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice does not hold the requested data. In November last year new court rules were introduced requiring the court to consider whether those involved in family proceedings are vulnerable and, if so, whether they need assistance, such as video link, to participate or give evidence. In support of these rules, family court staff are receiving new training on supporting vulnerable people who need additional assistance at court. Where possible, we have invested in the court estate to improve the physical security in family courts.

Criminal Proceedings: Domestic Violence

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of cases involving domestic abuse in the criminal courts special protection measures were implemented in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: ’Special protection measures’ are here taken to refer to ‘special measures’ as defined in the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. The Ministry of Justice does not hold the data centrally on the proportion of cases involving domestic abuse in the criminal courts where special measures were implemented. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examining individual case records.

Coroners: Legal Aid Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many and what proportion of inquests legal aid was granted in each of the last six years.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of inquests into the death of military service personnel legal aid was granted for representation at the inquest or pre-inquest hearing in each of the last three years.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of inquests into a death in custody or in the course of arrest legal aid was granted for representation at the inquest or pre-inquest hearing in each of the last three years.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of inquests involving public bodies legal aid was granted for representation at the inquest or pre-inquest hearing in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: These questions could only be answered at disproportionate cost.

Prison Sentences: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women are still held in prison on indeterminate public protection sentences by (a) offence and (b) original length of sentence.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women sentenced to Imprisonment for Public Protection have been recalled since their release.

Dr Phillip Lee: As of 31 December 20171, 74 women IPPs are being held in prison. Out of these, 54 have never been released by the independent Parole Board and 20 are in prison after being recalled (and they can be released only on a direction from the parole board). Those unreleased are serving sentences for the following offences: Offence GroupCountViolence against the person25Sexual offences8Robbery7Theft Offences1Criminal damage and arson13All54  Those unreleased received the following minimum tariffs: Tariff LengthCountLess than 2 years152 years to less than or equal to 4 years26Greater than 4 years to less than or equal to 6 years7Greater than 6 years to less than or equal to 10 years6All54Between 2010 and 20171 a total of 40 women IPPs have been recalled.Public protection is our priority and offenders on licence must comply with a strict set of conditions. If any offender breaches his or her licence conditions, he or she is liable to be recalled immediately to prison. The independent Parole Board will continue to assess rigorously all tariff-expired IPP prisoners, in order to determine whether they are safe to be released.  1By statistics code of practice, we cannot provide data for the most recent quarter as we have declared intention to publish such information next week. The figures provided are for offenders recalled from 2010 to 2017 whose first releases were directed by the Parole Board. Information datasets held by the department do not record the data in this format prior to 2010. The figures may include offenders recalled more than once across multiple years but not within years. The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Recall reasons do not sum to the total number of recalls as more than one reason can be recorded against each recall.

Prison Sentences

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans are in place to support women and men on indeterminate public protection sentences in meeting the requirements for their release.

Rory Stewart: Our priority remains the protection of the public, and this is reflected in the work HM Prison and Probation Service undertake with IPP prisoners prior to and following their release. A joint action plan is in place, co-owned by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the Parole Board, with the specific aim of providing opportunities for IPP prisoners to progress to safe release. A key part of the action plan is to ensure that the parole process runs as smoothly as possible, providing IPP prisoners with timely access to parole reviews. The Parole Board has effectively eliminated its backlog and is now listing more hearings than ever before. The release of IPP sentence prisoners is solely a matter for the Independent Parole Board, based on a thorough assessment of risk. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough to be safely managed in the community under supervision by the National Probation Service and its partner agencies.

*No heading*

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps with the Home Secretary to encourage Police and Crime Commissioners to work with schools to ensure that early support is provided for children experiencing domestic abuse.

Dr Phillip Lee: Prevention and early intervention remains the foundations of our approach to tackling violence and domestic abuse and we support approaches which focus on partnership working. It is important that there is effective working between agencies and schools to protect children experiencing domestic abuse.The Ministry of Justice provides £68 million per year to Police and Crime Commissioners to support victims of crime in their areas. This includes services specifically supporting children suffering the impact of domestic abuse.We have launched a consultation seeking views on what we can do across government to transform the response to domestic abuse. We welcome the expertise of Police and Crime Commissioners to help inform our approach.

Security Guards

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many security staff were employed in each year since 2010, and if he will make a statement .

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Trade

India: Exports

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress he plans to make on increasing food and drink exports to India in advance of the next India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee.

Greg Hands: India is a priority market for DIT's Food and Drink sector team which works closely with DEFRA, UK regional colleagues (including Devolved Administrations), dedicated overseas staff in India, UK Export Finance and trade policy officials. This collaborative export promotion work helps UK companies enter and grow sustainably in the market. In addition, India and the UK have identified food and drink as a specific workstream in the Joint Trade Review.

India: Overseas Trade

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a business-led Joint Working Group on Food and Drink as part of the India-UK Joint Trade Review.

Greg Hands: The UK-India Joint Trade Review successfully reported back to the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in January. Ministers endorsed several recommendations from the Review, including further collaboration between our Governments to explore addressing non-tariff barriers to trade specifically in the food and drink sector. Detailed inputs from industry will be crucial to informing this work so we welcome continued engagement with business. As my officials finalise workplans with their Indian counterparts they will be communicating to business how they might provide input.

Trade Agreements: Developing Countries

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he plans to take to ensure that UK trade with developing countries will promote women’s rights after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: The UK is committed to promoting the economic empowerment of women. Therefore we supported the Declaration on Trade and Gender at the WTO Ministerial Conference in December and the Secretary of State announced the UK's ambition for gender responsive trade last week. As the UK establishes an independent trade policy, we will create a framework that delivers for female exporters and upholds gender equality. Last week the Prime Minister also announced UK support for women traders in developing countries in the Commonwealth.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Prices

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the evidence cited by the Minister for Housing, the hon. Member for Esher and Walton in the Sunday Times article of 8 April 2018, that immigration has increased house prices.

Dominic Raab: I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 135737 on 18 April 2018. The evidence was published on 13 April 2018.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the performance assessments of Local Enterprise Partnerships.

Jake Berry: The Accounting Officer Systems Statement sets out the Department’s performance management process for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655188/Review_of_local_enterprise_partnership_governance_and_transparency.pdfThe Government is currently undertaking steps to further strengthen LEPs. In October 2017 the Department published the review of LEP governance and transparency conducted by Mary Ney. Since then MHCLG has issued best practice guidance for LEPs, followed up with intense LEP spot checks. This has strengthened the annual performance conversation process and introduced deep dives to review LEP governance, transparency and accountability in more detail.LEPs are a valued part of the local institutional framework and play an important role in delivering our ambition for growth in all parts of England. Through the LEP Review we will continue to strengthen LEPs, so that they can continue to drive sustainable private sector-led growth, job creation and make the most of the opportunities available as we leave the European Union.

Antisemitism

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made in response to the 2015 recommendation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism on creating a database of symbols slogans and flags that may be illegal because the organisations that use them incite hatred.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We are working with True Vision, the police online hate crime portal, and community stakeholders to provide an assessment of the impact symbols, slogans and flags have on community tensions. We expect the database to be in operation later this year.

Estate Agents: Regulation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to regulate estate agents.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: In our response to the call for evidence on improving the home buying and selling process, Government has committed to working with the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team to strengthen enforcement of the existing regulatory framework for estate agents with a focus on ensuring all agents comply with consumer protection regulations. We will also launch a consultation on creating a mandatory professional qualification for estate agents in due course.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the report laid before Parliament explaining the effect of the Dorset (Structural Changes)(Modification of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007) Regulations 2018 does not explain the retrospective effect and impact of those Regulations nor set out that he did not consult Christchurch Borough Council in advance of making those Regulations.

Rishi Sunak: Drafts of the Dorset (Structural Changes) (Modification of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007) Regulations 2018, which do not have retrospective effect, were shared and developed with the Chief Executives and Monitoring Officers of all nine Dorset councils.Before the draft Regulations were laid before Parliament, formal consent to their being made was sought from the nine councils; all consented except Christchurch Borough Council, which in a letter of 21 March 2018 stated that they did not give consent to the making of the statutory instrument.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraphs 4.5 to 4.9 of the report laid before Parliament explaining the effect of the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (Structural Changes) Order 2018, for what reasons his Department encouraged Christchurch Borough Council to hold an advisory poll to inform the Council's representations to him without pointing out that the result of any poll would be assessed not in relation to the Christchurch area but in relation to the Dorset area as a whole.

Rishi Sunak: The then Minister for Local Government made clear on 28 February 2017, in response to my Hon Friend’s Question UIN 65271, that we would reach a judgement in the round as to whether the proposal, if implemented, is likely to improve the area’s local government, commands a good deal of local support in the area, and whether the area itself is a credible geography for the proposed new structures.The decision to hold an advisory poll to inform its representations was entirely a matter for the Borough Council. In the event, the Secretary of State had regard to all the representations received, including the outcome of the poll and representations made about it, before taking his decision to implement, subject to Parliamentary approval, the Dorset councils’ proposal.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.8 of the report laid before Parliament explaining the effect of the Dorset (Structural Changes)(Modification of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007) Regulations 2018, for what reasons he did not consider an alternative proposal from Christchurch Borough Council to be implementable; and whether that proposal could have been implementable through retrospective amendment of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

Rishi Sunak: As my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State explained in his letter of 19 February 2018 to my Hon Friend the member for Christchurch, he considered that the alternative proposal from Christchurch Borough Council was not implementable. This was because it involved the retention of the two tier structure in rural Dorset and hence would be likely to undermine the very purpose of, and support for, the proposed reforms. It also involved a merger of two unitary district councils wholly outwith the area of Christchurch, which was not proposed or supported by either of the councils concerned, and would be contrary to the criteria the Secretary of Sate had announced that he intended to apply to any proposed merger of district councils.Regulations under section 15 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 which affect a unitary authority may only be made with the consent of that authority; such regulations would not have retrospective effect.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to allow further representations and submissions of alternative proposals to be made by Christchurch Borough Council and other affected bodies before any amendments to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 approved by Parliament which have retrospective effect are brought into force.

Rishi Sunak: No amendments to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 which have a retrospective effect are proposed.

Local Government: Dorset

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the Minister for Local Government did not send an advance copy of the regulations for structural change in Dorset to the leader of Christchurch Borough Council contrary to the assurances given to the hon. Member for Christchurch in that Minister's letter of 27 March 2018 that he would do so; and whether his Department gave the Chief Executive of Christchurch Borough Council any advance notice of the intention to lay those regulations.

Rishi Sunak: Letters to all Dorset MPs and council leaders, enclosing drafts of the proposed Regulations and Structural Change Order, were prepared for despatch on 27 March 2018. Due to an administrative error the letter to the Leader of Christchurch Borough Council was not issued.I have personally apologised to Councillor Flagg for the error which was rectified when it was drawn to our attention. A letter of 20 March 2018 was sent to the Chief Executive of Christchurch Borough Council, enclosing the draft Regulations and explaining that it was proposed to lay the draft Regulations ahead of Easter Recess.

Non-domestic Rates

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the level of business rate relief for childcare providers.

Rishi Sunak: The Government currently has no plans to review the level of business rates relief for childcare providers.The Government has introduced a package of support on business rates worth over £10 billion by 2023. This includes permanently doubling Small Business Rate Relief to 100 per cent, taking over 600,000 small businesses out of paying business rates entirely, and a £435 million package of support for ratepayers facing the steepest increases in bills following the 2017 revaluation. Furthermore, all business, including childcare providers, will benefit from the Government’s decision to bring forward the switch of the annual indexation of business rates from RPI to CPI by two years to April 2018. This measure alone will be worth £2.3 billion over 5 years.

Railway Stations: Public Lavatories

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Transport on the number of changing places toilet facilities at National Rail stations.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have discussed with the Department for Transport the provision of Changing Places toilets. Both departments have met to talk with representatives of the Changing Places consortium to review current and forecast provision in National Rail stations.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Land

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2018 to Question 129149 on Ministry of Defence Land,, whether the figure of 320 days given is based on a historical assessment or a future prediction.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The figure of 320 days referenced previously is based on a historical assessment of the use of land at Long Valley Training area, which includes Eelmoor.

Armed Forces

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many fewer full-time (a) male and (b) female service personnel there were at the most recent date for which data is available compared with 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Holding answer received on 19 April 2018



The number of full-time, UK Regular Service personnel, broken down by gender and year, can be found in the table below.  1 October 20101 October 2017Decrease from  1 October 2010 to 1 October 2017Male170,620132,30038,330Female18,06015,2302,840 The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review looked to restructure the Armed Forces to face future challenges and affordability, resulting in a reduction to Armed Forces strength. The Armed Forces have enough personnel to meet operational requirements. The Ministry of Defence’s published Diversity Statistics can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2017.

Military Intervention

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2018 to Question 133771, if his Department will take steps to notify Parliament when lethal force is used by British armed forces outside of an area of armed conflicts to which the UK is party.

Mark Lancaster: As the Government has stated previously, if the UK resorts to the use of lethal force outside of an armed conflict against an armed attack or the imminent threat of an armed attack, Parliament will be notified. However, for security and operational reasons such notification may need to be after any such use of force has taken place.

Ministry of Defence: SCL Group

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total value is of services delivered to his Department through contracts with Strategic Communications Laboratories since 2010.

Guto Bebb: Since 2010, SCL Group has held two contracts with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with a total value of £275,000.The MOD has also held a £42,000 contract with SCL Insight.

Armed Forces: Officers

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2018 to question 128776, on Armed Forces: Officers, what the timetable is for the information requested to be provided.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her to Question 128776. The information requested is still under review.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which (a) UK and (b) international shipbuilders participated in his Department’s market engagement exercise to procure fleet solid support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Guto Bebb: A total of seven shipbuilders have participated in the Fleet Solid Support ship market engagement activity with the Ministry of Defence. Discussions were held with Babcock International and Cammell Laird from the UK, and with international shipbuilders Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Damen, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Fincantieri and Navantia. These non-binding, informal meetings have discussed various technical and financial aspects of the project.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on its four-year assessment phase of the procurement process for new fleet solid support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and if he will make a statement.

Guto Bebb: In line with the strategy to procure the Fleet Solid Support ships through international competition, the programme has recently completed a period of market engagement with UK and global shipbuilders. These informal discussions have helped us to better understand the technical challenges and cost drivers of the project. We are planning to launch the formal competition to build the ships in summer of this year, and award the main build contract in 2020.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Social Security Benefits: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland authorities on social security and employment procedures after the UK leaves the EU.

Alok Sharma: In the absence of an Executive, DWP officials have been engaging with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Civil Service on EU exit related issues.

Universal Credit

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the repayment of advances is included in the 40 per cent cap on what can be deducted from universal credit claimants’ monthly awards.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a requirement on the part of decision-makers to take into account a claimant's wider financial situation when deductions and recoveries are taken from universal credit claimants in part 4 of their monthly award letter.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) evidence is required to be produced by decision-makers and (b) claimant consent is required in determining that it is in a universal credit claimant’s best interest that more than 40 per cent of a claimants' standard allowance should be taken in repayments.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discretion is available to decision-maker if a claimant of universal credit reports that (a) deductions and (b) recoveries are causing financial detriment.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit provides an unprecedented level of personalised support. People receive tailored support, based on their individual requirements, including financial support. Repayment of Universal Credit advances are included in the 40% cap on deductions that can be made from a claimant’s award. The maximum rate of deduction for an advance cannot exceed 40% of the claimant’s standard allowance. These deductions are taken when it is in the best interest of the claimant. In determining this, the Decision Maker will take into account the claimant’s circumstances. To protect vulnerable claimants from being made homeless or having their fuel disconnected, deductions in excess of the 40% of the claimant’s standard allowance can be taken in some circumstances. This is only for ‘last resort’ deductions , such as for arrears of service charges, rent, gas and electricity and on-going monthly costs of gas and electricity. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a social fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. If a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken. Any reduction will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the availability of judicial legal remedies below High Court level for disabled people to challenge the under-occupancy penalty on the grounds of discrimination.

Kit Malthouse: Disabled people can challenge the regulations underpinning the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy on the basis of discrimination by way of judicial review and seek a remedy (including damages for breach of the Human Rights Act). They can also ask the County Court to award damages for a breach of the Human Rights Act if it is found that they have been discriminated against under such regulations.

Incapacity Benefit

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference the Written Statement of 15 March 2018, Employment and Support Allowance, HCWS 549, which external organisations her Department has been engaging with that provide support and advice to claimants in order to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of corrections that may be necessary as a result of underpayments that may have occurred due to how a proportion of Incapacity Benefit claims were transitioned to Employment and Support Allowance between 2011 and 2014.

Sarah Newton: We held a stakeholder meeting on 26/02/2018: The following stakeholders were invited -Child Poverty Action GroupCitizen’s AdviceDisability Rights UKMINDScopeLeonard Cheshire DisabilityMencapNational Autistic SocietyNational Association of Welfare Rights AdvisorsThe Disability Benefits Consortium The following stakeholders attended -Disability Rights UKThe National Association of Welfare Rights AdvisorsScopeCitizen’s AdviceThe Disability Benefits Consortium Further stakeholder engagement took place on 06/03/18 through the DWP Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum The following external stakeholders attended -Independent AgeHomeless LinkBLESMALASAThomas Pocklington TrustHMRCLGA Social Security Adviser GroupRNIBGingerbreadSSACRefugeLITRGMINDDRUKAge UKAction on Hearing LossNHFMencapLWROGThe Big IssueCAPTurn2UsMS SocietyHelp for HeroesTrussell TrustScope We supported the Money Advice Service by fact checking the draft guidance they produced for their contact centres.

Social Security Benefits: Terminal Illnesses

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people have died within (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) two years and (d) more than two years after they were issued with a DS1500.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The DS1500 is not compulsory to support claims from people who are terminally ill.

Social Security Benefits

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure consistency between the criteria for home assessments for (a) employment and support allowance, (b) personal independence payments and (c) universal credit.

Sarah Newton: The criteria for home assessments are provided by DWP and are consistent between the three benefits in regards to how they advise Health Care Professionals (HCPs). The decision on whether individual cases require a home visit is made by the HCP and delivered according to the individual provider’s delivery model.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the merits in terms of (a) value for money and (b) reducing errors of separating the production of health reports from decision making.

Sarah Newton: In law, deciding entitlement to certain benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment, requires that there is an assessment of the claimant. The vast majority of assessments are carried out by an independent healthcare professional and a report is passed to DWP. A DWP decision maker then makes the decision on the claimant’s entitlement to benefit, using the report and any other relevant evidence. The respective roles of the healthcare professional and the decision maker are distinct, and clearly defined in law. As there are no plans to change the law, the Department has not considered an alternative approach.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she make it her policy to provide further (a) guidance and (b) financial support for WASPI women until they reach the state pension age.

Guy Opperman: The working age benefits system continues to provide a safety net for those experiencing hardship. There is detailed information and guidance on the range of benefits available on www.gov.uk Alternatively, an individual can contact the Department on one of our 0800 numbers. If looking for work, an individual can receive support tailored to their circumstances from their local jobcentre.

Pension Credit and Universal Credit

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of universal credit and pension credit regulations on couples where one person is over the pension age and the other is below that age.

Guy Opperman: Currently, when one member of a couple has reached Pension Credit qualifying age, that member may claim Pension Credit for the couple. Under the Welfare Reform Act 2012, in order to ensure that the younger partner is subject to the same labour-market conditions as other people of the same age, couples needing benefit support where one member of the couple has yet to reach Pension Credit qualifying age will need to claim Universal Credit rather than Pension Credit. This will apply to new claims only. Existing claims to Pension Credit from such couples will be protected.A number of Impact Assessments were published to support the passage of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 through Parliament; including the Universal Credit Impact Assessment on 10 December 2012. This can be found on GOV.UK at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220177/universal-credit-wr2011-ia.pdf

Members: Correspondence

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the letters of 7 December 2017 and 9 March 2018 from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North on the stage 3 complaint from a constituent about changes to the state pension age.

Guy Opperman: A response was sent to the letter dated 7 December 2017 on 8 January 2018. Despite a comprehensive search of Departmental records we are unable to locate any letter of 9 March 2018. A replacement letter will be sent today, providing a further explanation and include a copy of the letter dated 8 January 2018.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2018 to Question 129209, on state retirement pensions: women, if she will estimate the cost to the public purse of transitional arrangement number 23 of Table A of her Department’s response to Freedom of Information request 378/2016.

Guy Opperman: We do not have an estimate of the cost to the public purse of transitional arrangement number 23 of Table A of her Department’s response to Freedom of Information request 378/2016 as the information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Recycling: EU Action

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what arrangements he plans to make for continued UK involvement in the EU Circular Economy programme after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is developing a strategy on resources and waste, which includes the circular economy. This is not dependent on our membership of the EU. The aim of the strategy will be to make us a world leader in resource efficiency and resource productivity and increase competitiveness. It will set out how we will work towards our ambitions of doubling resource productivity and zero avoidable waste by 2050, maximising the value we extract from our resources and minimising waste and the negative environmental impacts associated.

Dogs: Smuggling

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of dogs being brought illegally into the UK for sale.

George Eustice: The illegal importing of dogs is a serious issue. Defra is currently reviewing enforcement and consulting on new measures to help further crack down on this trade. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is working in partnership with Dogs Trust and other NGOs, enforcement bodies and transport carriers to identify non-compliant animals destined for Dover and Folkestone ports. This partnership began in December 2015 and has resulted in over 700 puppies being seized and placed into quarantine. In January 2018, APHA established an intelligence database now in use for the receipt, development and dissemination of information covering the range of animal health and welfare work. APHA is also looking into establishing a Task Force to consider the better co-ordination of intelligence with other Government Departments and enforcement bodies. At the 2nd EU Platform for animal welfare several Members asked for the establishment of a further sub-group on the illegal trade in dogs and cats. The UK would be supportive of a group focusing on this issue. In terms of bilateral engagement, Defra has raised specific abuses of the Pet Travel Scheme with authorities in the relevant countries, and this has resulted in changes to how they implement their pet regulations. We also recognise the illegal trafficking of dogs is ultimately driven by demand. We have published guidance to follow when purchasing a dog such as buying from a reputable supplier and viewing the animal, its mother and its documentation before purchase. The guidance also highlights the trade in illegal imports.

Flood Control: Finance

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 4.50 of Autumn Budget 2017, how much of the £40 million to boost local regeneration in deprived communities at high flood risk has been allocated; what projects are set to benefit from that funding; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Ministers are still considering which schemes will benefit and expect to decide in due course.

Home Office

Asylum: Housing

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been made against G4S in the last year on its service to asylum seekers.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office and our accommodation providers take complaints extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to inspect, investigate and resolve when specific information is received. In the first instance, issues with Asylum Accommodation should be reported to the relevant Provider, for them to resolve. Where a Provider does not resolve a complaint satisfactorily, or the response is considered inadequate, then the complaint can be brought directly to UKVI, including via Migrant Help or another representative. Our records show that between October 2016 and October 2017 UKVI have received 68 complaints concerning G4S service to asylum seekers. These figures are based on local management information. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, is subject to change and should be treated as provisional.

Fires: Death

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fire-related fatalities there have been in (a) the UK and (b) Bristol in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The total number of fire-related fatalities in Great Britain can be found in table FIRE0501 herehttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679602/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire0501.xlsxFigures for Northern Ireland are not available on a consistent basis.The total number of fire-related fatalities in Avon can be found in table FIRE0502 herehttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679603/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire0502.xlsxFigures are not available at a lower level of geography.The number of fire-related fatalities in Great Britain and Avon can fluctuate due to the relatively small numbers involved.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from representatives of pharmaceutical companies on the legal status of cannabis for medical treatments in the last 12 months.

Mr Nick Hurd: In the last 12 months, the Home Office has discussed the potential use of Epidiolex as an alternative option for treatment with the manufacturer, GW Pharmaceuticals. However no representations have been received from representatives of pharmaceutical companies regarding the general legal status of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Police: Information

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Police Information Notices were issued in London by ethnicity in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The issuance of Police Information Notices (PINs) is an operational matter for police forces. Responsibility for the publication of information relating to PINs rests with Chief Constables. Information on their use is not collected centrally.

Police Custody: Parkinson's Disease

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with Parkinson’s disease were held in custody by the police in 2017.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what policies the police have in place to help support (a) staff with Parkinson’s disease and (b) people with Parkinson’s disease being held in custody.

Mr Nick Hurd: The arrest and detention of all individuals suspected of committing an offence is an operational matter for the chief officer of each force area. However, all detainees must be treated appropriately and in accordance with Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Codes of Practice C&H (detention and detention in terrorism cases, respectively). In particular, section 9 of PACE Code C sets out detailed requirements concerning health care of all detainees. Amongst other things, the Code requires the custody officer to ensure that detainees receive appropriate clinical attention as soon as reasonably practicable if, for example, the person appears to be suffering from physical illness, or appears to need clinical attention. This applies even if the detainee makes no request for clinical attention and whether or not they have already received clinical attention elsewhere. If the need for attention appears urgent, the nearest available healthcare professional or an ambulance must be called immediately. The Government does not hold information on the number of individuals with a Parkinson’s diagnosis that have been detained in police custody. In relation to police staff and officers, chief constables have a duty to manage and support their workforce effectively, ensuring the welfare of all officers and staff. Where officers and staff have been diagnosed with serious medical conditions, such as Parkinson’s Disease, it is for their managers, on the advice of their occupational health department, to ensure that the severity of their condition is reflected in risk assessments, and their role and duties are adjusted accordingly.

Police: Mental Illness

Laura Pidcock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent work-related mental illness in the police force.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is the responsibility of Chief Officers supported by the College of Policing to ensure the welfare of their employees which includes supporting officers with specific welfare needs by signposting to relevant services and additional support. The Government also takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers. In July 2017, the Home Secretary awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund over three years to pilot and, if it is successful, fund a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support. The Government has also awarded £7 million since 2014, using funds from the LIBOR fines imposed on banks, to the mental health charity Mind, which has funded targeted support and programmes for emergency services via their Blue Light Wellbeing Programme.

Police: Information

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review Police Information Notices to introduce (a) safeguards against their improper use and (b) an appeals process.

Mr Nick Hurd: The issuance of Police Information Notices (PINs) is an operational matter for police forces and responsibility for the usage of PINs rests with Chief Constables.We will continue to work closely with police colleagues to drive progress against the recommendations of the 2017 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services/Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate report on the criminal justice response to stalking and harassment, including the use of PINs, including through a Home Secretary chaired National Oversight Group.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral contribution of 16 April 2018, Official Report, column 27, on Windrush Children (Immigration Status), what steps her Department is taking to ensure that EU citizens eligible to apply for settled status do not face similar problems.

Caroline Nokes: As we design and deliver the Settlement Scheme, we are learning the lessons from other parts of the immigration system – including the existing permanent residence process and Windrush cases. At the end of the implementation period in December 2020 every EU citizen, and their family members, living in the UK at that time will be eligible for a status to stay in the UK and to apply for settled status once they have been resident for five consecutive years, subject to criminality checks. The Home Office is producing a new, simplified digital system for applications for settled status. Their status will be recorded electronically and the Home Office will have a permanent record of EU citizens and their family members who are living here with settled status. People will have plenty of time to make an application – until June 2021 – and we will take a proportionate approach to those who miss the deadline for a good reason. A digital awareness-raising campaign is already underway, and communications will increase as we approach the launch of the scheme, so that those affected know what they need to do.

Immigration

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time caseworkers were working on immigration in her Department in each year since 2010.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office deploys officials on a range of work that could, directly and indirectly, be considered casework on immigration matters. Figures on the number of full-time caseworkers is not recorded centrally on the Department’s HR systems. Operational immigration activity includes work undertaken by UK Border Agency in 2010 and more recently by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in 2015.

Airguns

Maria Caulfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the responses it received to its consultation on the use of air weapons raised concerns about the shooting of animals.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government received over 50,000 representations from members of the public about the review of the regulations of air weapons, a significant proportion of which were concerned about the use of these weapons against animals such as cats. We are considering the representations that we received and will publish our findings in due course.

Migrants' Access to Benefits and Public Services Inter-ministerial Group

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the minutes of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Migrants' Access to Benefits and Public Services for the period between its establishment and the 2015 general election.

Caroline Nokes: Information relating to the proceedings of Inter-Ministerial Groups, including minutes of their proceedings, is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Migrants' Access to Benefits and Public Services Inter-ministerial Group

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the evidence on the scale of abuse of benefits and public services by migrants that has been provided to the Inter-Ministerial Group on Migrants' Access to Benefits and Public Services since that group's inception.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the inter-Ministerial group on Migrant Access To Benefits And Public Services is still operational.

Caroline Nokes: The Inter-Ministerial Group on Migrants’ Access to Benefits and Public Services was in operation during 2012 and 2013. The Group was established to examine the rules and administrative arrangements in place across government to regulate migrant access to benefits and public services. Measures to strengthen controls in this area were subsequently introduced in the Immigration Act 2014 and in changes to secondary legislation.Policy proposals to introduce these measures were subject to public consultation during the course of 2013, for which policy development documents, including impact assessments, were published. Accordingly, there are no plans to publish evidence provided to the Group in 2012 and 2013.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the law on the use of medicinal cannabis to expand its availability for people with (a) chronic pain and b) long-term degenerative conditions for whom other treatments haven't worked.

Mr Nick Hurd: We recognise that people with chronic pain and debilitating illnesses will look to alleviate their symptoms. Raw cannabis has no established medicinal or therapeutic benefits in the UK and so it is listed as a Schedule 1 drug under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, and consequently subject to strict control restrictions. The World Health Organisation’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence has committed to reviewing the scheduling of cannabis under the United Nation’s 1961 Convention. This is due to consider the therapeutic use, as well as the dependence and the potential to abuse constituent parts of cannabis. We will await the outcome of this report before considering the next steps.

Alfie Dingley

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has the power and competence to issue a temporary licence for the treatment of Alfie Dingley which his parents have requested.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Secretary has the legal power under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to license the supply and possession of a controlled drug. Any applications for a licence would need to be made by senior clinicians using sufficient and rigorous evidence.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on the registration of EU nationals for indefinite leave after the UK leaves the EU, and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: In December 2017 we delivered on our commitment to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the UK before we leave the EU in March 2019. This was further established in March, when a reciprocal deal was agreed extending citizens’ rights until the end of the implementation period – December 2020.The Home Office is making good progress in developing the system to issue immigration status to all resident EU citizens, and their family members, and intend to launch the settlement scheme at the end of this year.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children living in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry spent time in a police station as a place of safety as a result of a mental health condition in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of persons specifically detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, including information on where the person is detained, and whether they are under 18 or aged 18 years and over, at police force area level only. These data were collected on a mandatory basis for the first time in 2016/17, and are published as part of the ‘Police powers and procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2017 Table MHA.05c of the accompanying data tables show that, in 2016/17, nobody was detained in a police station following a section 136 detention in the West Midlands police force area. Figures published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council also show that a police station was not used to detain a person under the age of 18 following a section 136 detention in any case in either 2014/15 or 2015/16. Data are not available for previous years.

Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland.

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland authorities on the future of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: Operation Gull in Northern Ireland is an intelligence-led operation. As such, its effectiveness is subject to continuous review in line with evolvingintelligence. No discussions have been held with the Northern Ireland authorities on the future of Operation Gull.

Asylum: Pakistan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for asylum from Pakistani Christians were (a) made and (b) granted in each year since 2015.

Caroline Nokes: The way information is stored on asylum claims means it is often not possible to report on the reasons for a claim without conducting a manual search of both paper and electronic records. Therefore, we cannot identify how many asylum claims have been made or granted leave, for claimants from a particular religion in a particular country. Published data relating to the outcomes of asylum claims from each country (including Pakistan) can be found in tab as_01 at volume 1 of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017-data-tables

Brexit: Northern Ireland

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the compatibility with the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement of the decision as to which passport holders are permitted to carry out public sector Brexit-related functions in Northern Ireland.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is fully committed to the Belfast Agreement. Recruitment to Home Office functions including in Northern Ireland is conducted in accordance with the Civil Service Nationality Rules. These are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/536134/civil_service-nationality_rules_20_june__2016.pdf

Immigrants: Detainees

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to end (a) indefinite detention and (b) the employment of detainees to work for £1 per hour at immigration detention centres.

Caroline Nokes: It is not possible to detain people indefinitely under Immigration Act powers. To be lawful, detention must last no longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was authorised, must not be unduly prolonged and, in relation to removal, there must be a realistic prospect of the individual’s removal within a reasonable period of time. As recommended by Stephen Shaw in his independent review of detainee welfare published in January 2016, the pay rates for detainees have been reconsidered, and have been maintained at current levels.

Police: Productivity

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 April 2018 on Police Funding, HCWS626, if she will publish the results of the sample of eight forces on the productivity benefits of mobile working.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 April 2018 on Police Funding, HCWS626, what estimate his Department has made of the number of hours that would be made available if every officer maximised the productivity benefits referred to in that statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: Following a 2017 sample of eight forces, the Home Office estimated that if all forces could deliver the same one hour per officer per day of productivity benefits from mobile working as the best, this has the potential to free up the equivalent of 11,000 extra officers nationally to provide the proactive policing that committed police officers want to deliver. The Home Office has established a small team who are working with the police through 2018 to contact a wider audit of the level of opportunity from mobile working, identify which approaches work best, highlight best practice, and help forces and the Home Office take the right decisions to maximise the gains from the use of mobile digital working.

Police: Mental Health Services

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to roll out the National Police Welfare Service, and how long that roll-out is planned to take.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish the results of the National Police Welfare Service trial.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers. In July 2017 the Home Secretary awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund over 3 years to pilot and, if it is successful fund a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support to serving police officers and staff. The timing of any roll out will, in part, depend upon the outcomes of the pilot, scheduled to be carried out over 2017/18 to 2018/19. The evaluation will form a key part of future decisions about the national service in 2019/20.

Deportation

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the safeguards and standards are for Government organisations or sub-contracted companies involved in forced deportation processes.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office expects the highest standards from staff and contractors working with detainees. Enforced removals from the UK are carried out on behalf of the Home Office by a private sector provider. Since 2014 the Home Office has required all staff involved in such removals to have successfully completed training in the techniques set out in the Home Office Manual of Escorting Safely (HOMES). HOMES is a bespoke restraint system developed by the National Offender Management Service (now Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, HMPPS) in consultation with the Independent Advisory Panel for Non Compliance Management and encourages compliance in those being removed to prevent the need for physical restraint techniques. All uses of restraints or force during an enforced removal from the UK are reviewed by the Home Office Use of Force Monitor with support from HMPPS and specialist medical professionals as required. Enforced removals processes are also subject to independent monitoring by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards.

Visas: New Businesses

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa renewal applications has been over the last three months for which data is available.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office published data on Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) decisions can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-february-2018 Information on the average processing time for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa extension application is not routinely monitored and can only be provided at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case records.

Visas: New Businesses

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa renewal applications are decided within (a) eight weeks, (b) nine months and (c) 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office published data on Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) decisions can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-february-2018 Information on the average processing time for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa extension application is not routinely monitored and can only be provided at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case records.

Immigration

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long the average leave to remain application takes from application to decision; and whether there is a backlog.

Caroline Nokes: Information on processing of cases against service standards, and on work in progress levels, by case type, is published in the Home Office’s in-country Migration Transparency data, athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-february-2018

Knives: Crime

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of knife crime incidents in Newcastle in each of the last seven years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. The Home Office collects and publishes data for offences involving knives or sharp instruments for selected offences in England and Wales, at police force area level only. These data are published quarterly, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/675512/prc-knife-open-data-march2009-onwards-tables.ods

Immigrants: Detainees

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people held at immigration detention centres were defined as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy in each year since 2016; and the average length of time that it takes to identify such vulnerable people in immigration detention centres.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who are (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) otherwise recognised as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy have been held at Brook House immigration removal centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who are (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) otherwise recognised as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy have been held at Campsfield House immigration removal centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who are (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) otherwise recognised as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy have been held at Colnbrook immigration removal centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who are (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) otherwise recognised as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy have been held at Dungavel House immigration removal centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who are (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) otherwise recognised as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy have been brought to Harmondsworth immigration removal centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) people recognised as vulnerable under the Adults at Risk policy have been brought to Larne House Immigration Removal Centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) people recognised as vulnerable under the Adults at Risk policy have been brought Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  how many (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) people recognised as vulnerable under the Adults at Risk policy have been brought to Pennine House Short Term Holding Facility since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  how many (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) people recognised as vulnerable under the Adults at Risk policy have been brought to Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre since 12 September 2016.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) people recognised as vulnerable under the Adults at Risk policy have been brought to Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre since 12 September 2016.

Caroline Nokes: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Immigrants: Detainees

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February to Question 127774, whether her Department plans to maintain a central record of people in immigration detention centres who are (a) survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and (b) otherwise recognised as vulnerable under the adults at risk policy.

Caroline Nokes: There are no plans to centrally record all specific indicators of vulnerability as set out under the existing Adults at Risk policy. However, we keep our data recording arrangements under regular review.

Passports: Fees and Charges

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February to Question 126084, when her Department plans to publish the impact assessment of the effect of planned passport fee increases on people without access to internet services.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the Honourable member to the Impact Assessment relating to the changes in passport fees which was published in January 2018. A copy of the Impact Assessment is attached.



Impact Assessment
(PDF Document, 372.22 KB)

Passports: Fees and Charges

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February to Question 126084, o passports: fees and charges, what options are being explored for making services available on the high street; which community support groups have been contacted; and what the timescale is for consulting and introducing those changes.

Caroline Nokes: Her Majesty’s Passport Office continually seeks proposals to improve our service for our customers. As such, we have engaged with Age UK, as well as partners in the travel industry to develop proposals.Her Majesty’s Passport Office will be producing branded products specifically designed to support employees in community organisations to use passport services. These are planned to be introduced over the summer.

Passports: Fees and Charges

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2018 to Question 126031, whether her Department plans to further increase the price of a passport in addition to the increase that was applied on 27 March 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Her Majesty’s Passport Office sets fees to recover the full cost of providing passport services in line with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money guidance. In line with this HM Passport Office reviews fees and costs on an annual basis to ensure fees are set at appropriate cost recovery levels. There are no current plans to change passport fees from the current levels set on 27 March 2018.

HM Passport Office: Recruitment

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2018 to Question 126031 on passports, how many additional staff HM Passport’s Office will require to ensure that demand can be serviced without significant impact on customer experience; and how many staff have been recruited since January 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) implemented a temporary increase in resource of 124 passport examiners to ensure demand could be serviced without significant impact on customer experience. HMPO has recruited 131 passport examiners between 1 January 2018 and 20 April 2018.

Asylum: Finance

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February to Question 126582 on asylum: finance, what plans she has to continue funding the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The draft Withdrawal Agreement states that the UK will continue in all programmes financed by the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 (MFF) until their closure, which includes the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). The Government will consider in due course its priorities in terms of continued participation in AMIF programmes beyond the MFF. Decisions on continued participation will be based on the UK’s best interests, including value for money for the taxpayer.

Immigration: Appeals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 20 February to question 127779 on immigration: appeals, what lessons were learned by her Department's review of allowed appeals in the most recent period that has been assessed.

Caroline Nokes: Appeals are allowed for a variety of reasons. Where our reviews show that there are lessons for the Home Office, these are fed back to decision making units who use them to improve operational practices.

Detention Centres

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that immigration detention centres are more effectively monitored.

Caroline Nokes: Independent monitoring of our Immigration Removal Centres is vital to ensuring that each centre provides a secure and humane environment for detainees. Recommendations are made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in their regular reviews, and public reports, of immigration removal centres. Accepted recommendations are incorporated into a publicly available service improvement plan.Each centre has its own Independent Monitoring Board, tasked with ensuring proper standards of care and decency for detainees. The Boards issue annual reports, and also make recommendations for improvements.Stephen Shaw’s independent review into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons was published in 2016. The Government broadly accepted recommendations made in this review. Mr Shaw’s second review, which will assess implementation of the recommendations made in his first, will be laid before the House in due course.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Advertising

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 6 October 2017 to Question 105441 on Scotland Office: Social Media, the Answer of 15 December 2017 to Question 119818 on Scotland Office: Advertising and the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 121531 on Scotland Office: Advertising when his Department started using Carat Ltd and whether the Departmental procurement card is still used for social media advertising costs.

David Mundell: Procurement cards continue to provide the most efficient way of paying for social media, given the relatively small amounts involved and need for flexibility. Carat was awarded the UK Government’s 4-year media buying contract in November 2014.

Northern Ireland Office

Nationality: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what additional rights are accorded by the UK Government to people in Northern Ireland who choose to assert their right to Irish citizenship.

Karen Bradley: The Belfast Agreement provides that people born in Northern Ireland may choose to be identified as British, Irish or both. The Government remains fully committed to the Agreement. The UK Government does not accord any additional rights to those who assert their right to Irish Citizenship.

Northern Ireland Office: Departmental Responsibilities

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has had any meetings with (a) the Attorney General of Northern Ireland and (b) officials in the Northern Ireland Ministry of Justice since her appointment.

Karen Bradley: I have not had any meetings with the Attorney General of Northern Ireland or officials in the Northern Ireland Department of Justice since my appointment.

Treasury

Exports: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the amount of export sales by companies with over 250 employees based in Northern Ireland has been with (a) the Republic of Ireland and (b) Great Britain in each of the last three years.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade Statistics. HMRC does not collect information about movements of goods within the UK. Therefore it is not possible for HMRC to answer part (b) of this question regarding movements between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The value of these exports to the Republic of Ireland is set out in the tables below for 2014 - 2016. Data is not yet available for 2017. Value of Exports to the Republic of Ireland by Large Northern Ireland Businesses, 2014-2016   YearTrade Value (£) 2014552,296,409 2015511,017,497 2016509,707,850 Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics Notes: 1. Data is extracted on a special trade basis 2. Large businesses are defined as those with 250 or more employees 3. Data does not include businesses trading below the annual £250,000 Intrastat threshold for EU exports 4. Businesses are identified as being based in Northern Ireland if their VAT registered address has a "BT" postcode.

Welfare Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a reliable mechanism which (a) makes clear the whereabouts of important documentation relating to tax credit claims, (b) acknowledges the submission of online renewals and (c) does not suspend payments until it can be proved that claimants have received and then failed to respond appropriately to the necessary paperwork.

Mel Stride: I refer the Rt. Hon Gentleman to the answer my predecessor gave him on 12th September 2017 (Hansard 7488). HMRC has processes in place for handling and scanning important documents and cherished items. The department endeavours to return such items but cannot legislate for documentation that is not accompanied by a covering letter or form that enables HMRC to identify the sender. In addition to the automated acknowledgements referred to in the previous answer, HMRC has introduced an online service that enables customers to track the progress of their tax credits renewal online through their Personal Tax Account. HMRC send tax credits customers their renewal packs between mid-April and the mid-June each year. These are followed by a series of reminders and an extensive advertising and social media campaign to encourage customers to renew on time.

Loans: VAT

Karen Lee: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the clarity of Government guidance for private companies on the charging of VAT on loans.

Mel Stride: Guidance on the VAT treatment of loans and other credit is set out in “VAT Notice 701/49: finance”, available on the gov.uk website. As provided for in the VAT Act 1994, the guidance sets out that loans and grants of credits are exempt from VAT.

1MDB: Malaysia

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the progress of investigations by UK authorities into financial crimes related to the 1MDB fund in Malaysia; what requests for information have been made to the Malaysian authorities during the course of those investigations; and what responses have been received to such requests.

John Glen: This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA.

Ordnance Survey: Databases

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic effect on booksellers of his recent proposal on Ordinance Survey MasterMap data.

Elizabeth Truss: At Autumn Budget 2017, the government committed to work with Ordnance Survey (OS) and the new Geospatial Commission to establish by May 2018 how to open up freely OS’s MasterMap data to UK-based small businesses in particular. This work is underway and we will provide further updates in due course.

Pensioners: Income

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment Her Majesty’s Government has made of the long-term effect on retirement incomes of people withdrawing money from their pension pots and placing it in bank current accounts and low-interest savings products.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment Her Majesty’s Government has made of the potential long term effect on retirement incomes of the additional tax being paid by those withdrawing their pensions from retirement savings.

John Glen: The government continues to assess its reforms, and keeps policy under review through the annual budget process, using data collected from a number of sources.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring the retirement market and collects data from the markets it regulates, consumer surveys and its own operations. The FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review has examined how the retirement income market is evolving since the introduction of pensions freedoms. The government awaits the final report of the Retirement Outcomes Review and will work with the regulator and industry to consider its recommendations.The impact of pensions flexibility on tax revenue was costed in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2014 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. HMRC publishes a quarterly statistical release detailing the number of transactions using pension flexibility and the amount of money withdrawn.The government has made freedom and choice in pensions a key priority, meaning individuals are now free to access their pensions as they wish. The government set up the free and impartial Pension Wise service to provide guidance to individuals over 50 with a defined contribution pension, to help them understand their options. The government is creating a new single financial guidance body.This will make it easier for people to access information and guidance about their pensions. In making such decisions, individuals need to consider the impact of different options and subsequent income tax implications on their retirement income.

Children: Day Care

Derek Twigg: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134639, on Children: Day Care, what the technical issues were that were experienced by parents when applying for tax-free childcare through the online service; and what caused those issues.

Elizabeth Truss: The majority of parents apply for Tax-Free Childcare without any issues. For the small number of parents that have a technical problem applying for Tax-Free Childcare the majority of these are caused by: delayed eligibility responses, caused by the application effectively becoming stuck at some point in the IT system;issues with children incorrectly duplicating on the system which is caused by the interaction between HMRC and NS&I IT systems; andparents seeing error screens during their application which have a number of root causes. Following work by HMRC to improve the childcare service and fix these problems, over 99% of parents now receive an eligibility response within 5 working days, only a small number of parents are experiencing a duplicate child issue and the number of parents seeing an error screen at some point through their application, has reduced to less than 2%.

Children: Day Care

Julian Sturdy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints relating to childcare service accounts have been reported to HMRC in each of the last six months.

Elizabeth Truss: The total number of complaints relating to the childcare service received by HMRC each month are set out in the table below. October 17464November 17716December 17554January 18900February 18758March 18551

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the security of HMRC’s practice of returning important personal documents including (a) passports and (b) birth certificates by standard post.

Mel Stride: HMRC monitors the security of all its operational activity on a continuing basis.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax-free childcare accounts have (a) been created and (b) had at least one payment made from that account to date.

Elizabeth Truss: As of 19 April 2018, more than 275,000 parents had opened a Tax–Free Childcare account and over 60,000 parents had used their account to make a payment to a childcare provider.

Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2018 to Question 135470, what the total figure is for all of the minor tax reliefs that his Department considers to be negligible.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes statistics on the estimated costs of minor tax reliefs available on Gov.uk. Where the cost of reliefs are estimated to be negligible (‘neg’), the cost is believed to be less than £3m per year. Precise estimates are not available for some of these reliefs and therefore a total figure across negligible reliefs is not held.

Financial Services

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Times article of 9 April 2018, FCA to scale back non-Brexit activities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that financial services are regulated during the transition period after the UK leaves the EU.

John Glen: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, and is funded entirely via a levy on the firms it regulates. The government has given the FCA three operational objectives: to ensure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers; protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system; and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers. As an independent body, it is for the FCA to decide how to fund and allocate its resources most effectively to meet these statutory objectives. The government will continue to work with the FCA to ensure that financial services are regulated effectively after the UK leaves the EU.

Money Laundering

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127856 on Money Laundering, how many (a) warning notices, (b) action plans, (c) financial penalties and (d) withdrawals of the right to practice have been issued since 2010.

John Glen: Information on warning notices, action plans, financial penalties and withdrawals of the right to practice can be found in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Supervision Reports which are published by the Treasury at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-money-laundering-and-counter-terrorist-finance-supervision-reports.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Andy McDonald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the £200 million of private investment announced in the 2017 Budget as part of a new £400 million Charging Investment Infrastructure Fund has been raised to date.

Andy McDonald: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.15 of Autumn Budget 2017, what his Department's timescale is for raising the £200 million of private investment as part of a new £400 million Charging Investment Infrastructure Fund.

Robert Jenrick: Following the announcement of this fund at Autumn Budget, the Government is engaging with the private sector to ensure that it is set up in the most effective way. We expect to launch the procurement for the private sector fund manager in Summer 2018, who will be tasked with raising the £200m of private investment. Further details will be announced in due course.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Living Wage

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) direct employees, (b) agency staff and (c) outsourced staff working for (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department are paid less than the living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Margot James: Department for Culture, Media and SportNumber of people paid less than the living wage(a) directly employedNil(b) agencyNil(c) outsourcedWe do not hold this information  DCMS does not hold agencies’ information centrally. This information is correct at 1st April 2018.

Social Media: Data Protection

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that social media companies are complying fully with the Data Protection Act 1998 and associated General Data Protection Regulations.

Margot James: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is responsible for regulating compliance with data protection legislation. There are a number of tools available to the ICO to ensure compliance. These include criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement and audit. The Information Commissioner also has the power to serve a monetary penalty notice on a data controller. Further details of the actions which can be taken can be found on www.ico.org.uk. The government's Data Protection Bill will strengthen legislation around data protection and give the Commissioner tougher powers to ensure that organisations comply.

Internet: Data Protection

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who use online platforms are aware of the nature and volume of their data that is retained by the companies responsible for those platforms as a result of that use.

Margot James: We take both the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously. Our new data protection legislation is going to make our laws fit for the digital age in which an ever increasing amount of data is being processed. Organisations will need to be clearer with people how their data will be used and ensure that any consent obtained is clear, unambiguous and purposeful. It will empower people to take control of their data, strengthening their rights to move or delete personal data.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what advice the Sports Ground Safety Association provided to his Department on the  application by West Bromwich Albion to introduce a safe standing area at that club's stadium.

Tracey Crouch: Spectator safety at sports grounds remains the priority for Government. The Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing and advising on safety at sports grounds. My officials meet and receive advice from the SGSA as part of the normal process of policy development. The Sports Grounds Safety Authority provided technical advice and background information on the proposal from West Bromwich Albion FC to install rail seating at The Hawthorns.

Computers: Education

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to take steps to (a) introduce and (b) support courses to improve computer literacy.

Margot James: We are introducing, from 2020, fully-funded basic digital skills training for adults. Adults will have the opportunity to take improved basic digital courses based on new national standards setting out the basic digital skills needed to participate effectively in the labour market and day–to-day life. The Government will consult on these new standards in the autumn. We also fund the Future Digital Inclusion programme managed by the Good Things Foundation and delivered through the 5,000 strong Online Centres network. To date this programme has supported over 800,000 adult learners to develop their basic digital skills, many of whom are socially excluded. In the 2017 Autumn Budget the Government announced a National Retraining Scheme which will have an early focus on digital. As part of the Digital Strategy over half of the 4 million digital skills training opportunities pledged by industry have now been delivered. Creation of the Digital Skills Partnership, also highlighted the Digital Strategy and support for Local Digital Skills Partnerships to ensure that partners across public, private and third sectors work collaboratively to design, develop and deliver innovative digital skills programmes will also help improve digital inclusion.

Youth Social Action Review

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2018 to Question 132681, on Youth Social Action Review, whether the Minister of Sport and Civil Society has met with the Chair of the Independent review of full-time social action since that report's publication.

Tracey Crouch: I will be meeting with the Chair of the Review to discuss the Report’s recommendations shortly. The Government response to the review’s report will be published in due course.

Press: Privacy

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of access to arbitration for victims of press abuse and intrusion.

Margot James: IPSO and IMPRESS provide free complaints services and low cost arbitration schemes, which offer quick access to fair and independent redress.

Data Protection

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that children and their parents can receive legal redress where they have been victims of a large-scale data breach.

Margot James: The Data Protection Bill seeks to enhance UK citizens’ data rights. Clause 180 of the bill, in conjunction with article 80(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), provides data subjects with the right to request an authorised non-profit organisation which has statutory objectives in the public interest and which is active in the field of data protection to bring a legal claim on their behalf. Taken together with the right of individuals and organisations to complain to the Information Commissioner when they have concerns about the processing activities of particular companies, this will ensure children and their parents can rely on a range of redress mechanisms.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Consultants

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which consultancy firms his Department has commissioned to model future customs arrangements with the European Union; and what the value of those contracts were.

Suella Braverman: We have commissioned external expertise to support the work of the Department, including consultancy firms. The Department aligns with the Government Commercial Function's values in delivering procurements in a fair and open manner. In assessing the options for the UK's future customs relationship with the EU, the Government will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK and by our strategic objectives: To keep trade with the EU as frictionless as possible;To avoid a ‘hard border’ between Ireland and Northern Ireland;To establish an independent international trade policy. The Government is undertaking a wide range of continuing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. We have been clear the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on internal analytical work that is being carried out within government. Details of Government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Menstrual Hygiene Day

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans the Government Equalities Office has to promote Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May 2018; and what events she planning to (a) attend and (b) organise.

Victoria Atkins: This Government supports a wide range of policies to remove inequalities related to gender. However, the Government Equalities Office does not lead on health related issues and is not promoting Menstrual Hygiene Day or organising events related to it.